Perseverance
by Lightspeed Bubba
Summary: Artis Zaffre has failed to pass Beacon Academy's Initiation six times in a row. He knew he had all the skills, fortitude, and drive to be a Huntsman but something kept him from his goal every time. With the help of Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune, maybe it could be 7th time's the charm. *Discontinued*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: After 2 full rewrites and almost 8 hours of editing, I'm proud to say welcome to Perseverance! To get this out of the way, Artis is taking Pyrrha's spot at Beacon, if that's a deal breaker for you, I understand. That being said, she will still be in the story but in another facet. I hope you'll give this OC a shot. I really hope you guys enjoy this and stick around for the ride.**

Artis Zaffre sat in the ship's seat, his head held in his hands and eyes fixated on his black boots. The blue haired man sent out silent prayers into the skies, hoping for any of them to be answered this time. A massive stone dog rested beneath his feet, his breath tickling his master's ankles but he paid it no mind.

 _Please give me the luck I need. I've worked so hard for this; I need to get in this time. I don't know how many more times I can take this ride and be sent home._

His mind catapulted him back into the memories of all of the other times he'd taken this trip. Every emotion he felt coursed through him. The fear, the excitement, the anxiety, the joy, and the millions of other emotions that invade his heart. He mailed a final prayer to the heavens above before reaching down and petting the stone dog. .

The creature grumbled at being awoken from its nap but licks the hand that is offered to him. A gesture of solidarity and comfort as much as a greeting, something Artis is in dire need of now. Reassurance that he was doing the right thing, that he wasn't a failure, that he'd get it right this time. What was not a gesture of solidarity and brotherhood however, was the drool that now coated his fingers.

With a sigh, he wiped his fingers on the leg of his black army pants. Peering down, he spoke.

"Can you go fifteen minutes without drooling all over the place?" The hound is indifferent to his question and sits in silence. "Come on Dusty, work with me here a bit." Dusty simply panted, letting his tongue hang out and creating a veritable puddle of droop beneath him. With a shake of his head, Artis fell back into his own thoughts.

 _Alright, the plan remains the same as last year. Make a beeline for the northwest corner. Ozpin has had the chess pieces there every year in the cave. I need to secure that before anything else, finding a partner can be sorted out after I guarantee my spot at the school. No stopping to help out or pull someone out of a tree. Learn from your mistakes Artis. You've got this._

Artis's one man pep talk is cut abruptly short by the sound of someone retching violently onto the floor. Turning his honey colored eyes to the sound, he saw a gangly blond boy wobbling around on his feet. His hand covered his mouth, trying to halt the surging tide of sickness attempting to evacuate his bowels. Artis watched the boy's eyes hunt around the ship, looking for anything to be his trashcan.

After several seconds, his fortitude seemed to run out and he vomited all over the brown, now sickly yellow, boots of a blonde girl with lilac eyes. She was gorgeous, with a smile that lit up the ship and hair like the sun. Her aforementioned lilac eyes changed very quickly to a vibrant blood red and she launched to her feet, screaming enough profanities to make a sailor blush. Her actions did little to help the poor boy's sickness as his skin took on a green tint and his heaving continued. The girl in the red hood sitting next to the angry blonde restrains her as much as she can, considering the size difference, as the boy looks for any sort of refuge. He seems to find it on the other side of the ship.

 _Feel sorry for the poor bastard that gets him for a partner._ A tone chimed and all eyes shift over to the intercom. A voice called out.

"Good afternoon students, I am deputy Headmaster Glynda Goodwitch." The ship began to turn, allowing the port side window a view of the river that runs right up to the cliffs of the school. It's an incredible view, the water grapples with the rocks below, each vying for dominance. The might of land meets the unending tide. Its poetry in motion and Artis couldn't pry his eyes away.

He'd seen this at least seven times before but it never ceased to fill him with awe. To see that endless battle between surf and stone over and over again, a fight the stone knows it cannot win but it persists, aware that it has to fight even if it can't win. The Deputy Headmaster's voice smashed his thoughts as she continues.

"Please exit the ship and make your way to the main hall for Headmaster Ozpin's opening remarks. Welcome to Beacon Academy." The ship slowed to a stop and the hatch opened up, allowing everyone to leave. Artis reached over to the hunk of white steel on the seat next to him, taking and securing it to his back as well as slipping his backpack onto his shoulders. His hand finds his hip where he checks the security of the holster with his knife in it. With a grunt, he stood and made his way for the exit only to be bowled over by the same gangly blond boy that had been vomiting all over the ship earlier. Before Artis can say anything about his assault, the blond throws himself into a nearby trashcan, emptying the contents of his stomach

 _At least it's not someone's shoes this time…_ Artis found his feet and followed the mineral mutt as it leads him off the ship. When his nose wasn't buried in the grass and dirt, it sniffed the other students who keep passing glances at Artis after giving the animal a pat on the head and a scratch behind the ears. All progress halted when the blonde and hooded girls crossed his path, causing him to roll onto his back for belly rubs like a puppy in a playpen. The girls were all too eager to abide him, drawing a sigh from Artis. Familiar faces passed him by as he watched the hound play. He wasn't the only one to have made this trip more than once. A silent nod is shared between them as Artis turned back to Dusty. His tongue clicked twice and he called out.

"Dusty, here." The creature rolls back to his feet, all four hundred and twenty-seven pounds trotting back to his master. The girls looked to the man and the blonde girl with lilac eyes spoke, her face set in a deep pout.

"Hey, we weren't done with him yet." She closed the gap between the creature and herself, resuming her stroking. "I thought Beacon had a pretty strict policy against pets." Artis gave a noncommittal nod.

"As far as I know yea but Dusty here isn't a pet, if the fact that he's made of rock didn't give it away." Her hands found her hips.

"So what is he? A construct that you can summon like some kind of wizard?" Artis gave a small laugh and shook his head.

"Sadly no, I am not a wizard. Technically, he's my Semblance so he's kinda like a construct I guess. Still, he's got an Aura that's separate from mine, and has his own thoughts and emotions. He's about as smart as normal dog though, drools like one too." He spared a glance down at the animal as it continued to drip like a leaky faucet. "Should the worst happen though, I can resummon him but it's pretty draining and takes a hefty chunk of my Aura to do it. For all intents and purposes, he's my partner as well as my best friend." Artis gave Dusty a scratch behind the ears, causing him to roll onto his back again.

The blonde crouched down, taking the opportunity to resume her rubbing, now cooing at him like a baby.

"We" She motioned to the girl behind her with the hood. "Have a dog back home named Zwei. If I'd known putting him down as my Semblance would've let me bring him here, I would've put that on my transcripts." Another light laugh escaped the blue haired man and the blonde stood back up, offering a hand. "I'm Yang. Yang Xiao-long." She pointed a thumb back over her shoulder. "That little bundle of social anxiety is my little sister Ruby." Ruby mumbled out a response that sounded a lot like.

"I am not a bundle of social anxiety." Her point was countered by the fact that she attempted to hide in her hood. Artis gave Yang's hand a squeeze.

"Artis Zaffre, nice to meet you both." He waved to Ruby, who returned the gesture. His tongue clicked twice again and Dusty gets back to his feet. "We should probably get inside." He turned and began to make his way towards entrance of the massive building. The two girls follow after.

"You seem to know your way around here Artie, done this once or twice?" He knew that she didn't mean anything by, how could she? Didn't stop the words from stinging. _If only it was that many times._ He gave a shrug.

"You could say that. And please don't call me Artie" Silence sets in as they move.

"Soooooo… what kinda weapon do you use?" Artis giftwraps a silent thank you to the gods above for Yang not pressing the issue and mumbled under his breath about going to church on Sundays.

"I use Dusty here." He patted the animal's head and slipped an eight inch serrated blade from his hip holster. "This little guy right here." Then he reached behind his back to the white block attached. "And a custom built, semi-automatic, anti-material rifle, complete with a range finder, wind log, and specialized Dust ammunition." She went quiet and Artis peered over his shoulder to see her eyebrow rise and her hands find her hips. He sighed. "Big gun that shoots big bullets." There was a look in her eye now and she smirks.

"Really? Well isn't that interesting… Ruby, don't _you_ use a custom automatic, semi-build, sniper thing too?" The hooded girl scoffed.

"Yang, you know that Crescent Rose is a fully customizable, high impact sniper rifle." The blonde gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"That's what I said." Artis could hear the smile on her face as she continued. "Well, why don't you two kids talk more about your toys while I…" Her eyes scanned her surroundings. "Go get us a spot for the Headmaster's speech." Before the final word can even leave her lips, she's gone. Artis and Ruby shared a look.

"Well then." Ruby lets a nervous laugh escape her lips. A beat of silence passes. "So, you use a sniper rifle as well?" Their pace slows to a stop as the hooded girl nods and pulls out a large red and black rectangle. She tapped a button on the side and it begins to grow. Two seconds pass and now she's holding a massive six foot scythe that's infinitely more intimidating than its wielder. Artis's jaw parted but no words leave his mouth save one. "Wow." Ruby gave another awkward giggle.

"This is Crescent Rose." She ran a hand along the flat side of the blade. "Like I said, my baby here is a fully customizable, high impact sniper rifle that is also a scythe." The blue haired man blinked at her. He'd seen a lot of weapons in his twenty-four years of living but he couldn't remember a time when he'd seen anything like that.

"Where'd you get a thing like that?"

"I built her." Artis furrowed his brows.

"You built that whole thing?" She nodded "By yourself?" She nodded again as her cheeks darken.

"Pretty much. I used my Uncle Qrow's scythe as a template and kinda sorta kept adding onto it." The name Qrow struck a chord in his mind. He conjured memories of a man taking sips from a flask as he leant against a scythe, giving directions to sparring students. Another memory of a dark haired man giving a test and passing out on his own desk. _She can't mean THAT, Qrow, could she?"_

"Wait a sec, do you mean Qrow Branwen? The teacher at Signal?" She nodded again.

"Yep. That's my uncle." A small smile found his lips and he inclined his head. Silence set in again as Artis's mind wandered back to his time at Signal. The girl in front of him dragged him back to the present when she put her own weapon away. "So what about your weapon? Can I see it?"

"Yea, sure." He reached behind him, grabbing the white block on his back. With the tap of a button, it morphed into a six and a half foot monstrosity of precision and steel.

"This is Ivory's Song." He held the gun out in front of him so Ruby can take a closer look. "She comes complete with an impact absorbing stock, insulated firing chamber for protection against the elements, a folding bipod, a fully adjustable scope, rangefinder, wind log, and specialized ammunition." Ruby's eyes lit up like she was just told she can open her Christmas presents early. She reached for the gun and he lets her take it. Her hands run down the snow white and royal blue paint job.

"Did you make this yourself?" He nodded.

"Funny story about that." She raised an eyebrow. "I actually hadn't planned on making that from the start. You see, I built her a little while after my daughter was born. She'd wake up in the middle of the night and because my girlfriend at the time was still at Beacon as a Huntress-in-training, putting her back to bed was on me. Well, little Ivory would scream and cry long into the night. By the time I got her to actually go back to sleep _I_ was wide awake. I knew I needed a better weapon than the rifle I'd been using for the last few years, other than my knife, if I wanted to keep trying to be a Huntsman. So I built one. Took a little over a month and a hefty chunk of lien from my bank account but I got it just how I like it. Figured it was only right to name it after my pride and joy."

Ruby braced the stock against her shoulder, aiming at the ground, and peering down the sights. Several seconds pass before she lowered it and spoke again.

"Wait a minute… You have a daughter!?" Artis nods..

"Yep. She just turned four last month." She handed the rifle back to him.

"Wow. What's she like?" Artis tapped the button on the side again and Ivory's Song folded back up into its storage mode before it gets secured on his back.

"She's the light of my life and very temperamental." To himself he mumbled. "Just like her mother." Talking about Ivory allowed his mind to be consumed again. Was she OK? Did anything happen? Was she being good for his parents? Did she need anything? The rational part of his mind knew that everything was fine but a parent's mind wasn't always a rational thing. Before she could ask any more questions, a familiar blond boy made his way to the pair.

"Excuse me, but do either of you know where we're supposed to go?" It was Ruby who answered him.

"Hey, Vomit Boy! You're that guy that threw up on Yang's shoes!" His hands flew up.

"I get motion sick! It's a very common problem!" Ruby snickered.

"Whatever you say Vomit Boy."

"Follow me; I'll take you both there." The two of them nod and the group made their way into the school. As they walk, Artis asked. "So what's your name?" The boy gave a grin that was somewhere between confident and terrified.

"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." The blue haired man shook his head, scoffing.

"Sure Champ."

"They do!" He paused, his head drooping slightly. "Well, they will." The group came to a room stuffed to the brim with people, some he recognized and some not, as well as a stage with two familiar faces. The woman standing on the right peered down at a tablet. She didn't need to be on a stage to make everyone feel small. Her natural height coupled with the heels she wore as well as the perpetual scowl etched onto her face is more than enough. The man standing next to her is built like a cypress tree; all length and greenery. His right hand rested on a cane and his left pushed his glasses up as the room fills in. A voice rang out, drawing the attention of Artis's little group.

"Ruby!" They saw Yang waving her arms. "I saved you a spot!" The young girl turned to her two traveling companions.

"Hey, I gotta go." She turned to Artis. "Thanks for showing me the way here." She gave Dusty a light pet before running off. "I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" Jaune sputtered out.

"Hey! Wait-" His eyes found the floor. Artis nudged him with a shoulder.

"Chin up kid, that long face won't help you with the ladies." He opened his mouth to speak but the man behind the microphone cleared his throat. Artis's arms crossed over his chest. _Wonder if his speech is going to be any different than the last few…_

"I'll… keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge." _Evidently it will not. Swell._ His eyes scanned the surrounding students. Over his years of participating in Beacon's initiation, Artis liked to think he'd gotten rather good at discerning who gets in and who goes home. Naturally, there was an element of luck, but still. He was right more often than not. He turned his gaze to the two girls from the landing pad.

 _Definitely Yang, Ruby's a maybe. She's small, what is she? Twelve?_ His eyes found Jaune next. _Not a chance._ Next he came to a girl with snow white hair and piercing blue eyes. The luggage she carried with her was worth more than his car. _A Schnee. Why's she here? Why not go to the academy in Atlas? Stay a little closer to home. Whatever._ He paused to consider. _She's a maybe_.After the Schnee, he spied two kids, a boy and a girl. The girl was all smiles as she bounced around the boy, talking his ear off. To his credit, the black haired boy took it like a seasoned pro, nodding along with whatever she was saying. _Girl maybe, guy yea. She needs a stabilizer or she's gonna wash out. The guy's got a good shot, looks like he's taking in everything around him, analyzing the competition no doubt._ As the speech concluded Artis's eyes came to a dark haired girl with a bow in her hair. She hugged the side wall like she's trying to become part of it. _Nope, this isn't a profession that you can hide away forever like that._ The Deputy Headmaster's voice rang out.

"You will all gather in two hours the ballroom. Initiation begins tomorrow morning. Be ready." She paused as heads began turning to one another. The nervousness was strong enough to taste in the air. She inclined her head. "You're dismissed." Prospective Huntsman began to filter out of the room, Artis followed soon behind. The sun began to descend by this time. _Don't need a locker really, not yet at least. Should make my way to the ballroom to claim my spot._

It's a short walk to the Ballroom but apparently he was not the only person to think about getting a spot early. The girl with the bow in her hair sat against the wall, face buried in a book. Artis's entry dragged her from her literary escape and he nodded to her. She gave a small one in return before going back to her reading.

In his previous attempts, Artis would explore the campus or try to meet some of the other students participating in initiation. By his seventh try though, there wasn't much left to explore. It was a school. The only difference between a huntsman Academy and a normal school were the sparring areas and a better stocked nurse's office. He didn't particularly feel like talking with the girl with the bow. He knew how he felt when someone interrupted him when he was busy, would be hypocritical to do the same to her. So, he did the only other thing he could do, e flopped down on the floor against the same wall as the girl with the bow, slipping his gun as well as his knife into his bag. Dusty made himself comfortable, using his master's leg as a pillow. Artis pulled out his Scroll and peered through his contacts list. He found the desired person and started the video call. After three rings, a woman's face came into focus. Curly cobalt hair framed her face and dark green eyes stared back at him. Strong laugh lines are etched into her cheeks as well as the crow's feet near her eyes. Her smile was electric and her energy infectious.

"Hi Baby! It's so good to hear from you! How's Beacon? Have you finished Initiation yet?" A smile found his face.

"Hey Mom. Beacon's the same as it was last year, couple new faces, but nothing else that you wouldn't have seen when you were here a thousand years ago." She laughed and stuck her middle finger into the foreground. "As for Initiation, you know that's tomorrow morning. Your mind slipping at your old age?" She barked out a laugh.

"Keep it up boy; I'll fly over there at the drop of a hat. You're not too old to be put over my knee." He let his smile grow and shook his free hand in mock fear.

"I'm quaking in my boots." The two shared another laugh and Artis sighed. "How's Dad?" She looked off screen and then back to her son.

"He's good; he just put Ivory down for bed. I'll go get him." Her voice echoed through his childhood home as she called out to her husband and longing tugged at his heartstrings. _I shouldn't be here. I should be at home taking care of Ivory. How could I put my own daughter on the backburner for my own dreams? That's not fair to her._ Artis had been having the same argument with himself for four years and hadn't made any headway going one direction or the other. The mental battle would continue as a man appeared on screen. He may have been an Ursa in a past life and that must have carried over to this. Duke Zaffre was a man not easily missed. His height coupled with his shiny bald head and bright yellow eyes allowed him to stand out in a crowd. This was helped along by his voice which clapped like thunder.

"Heya Boy, how ya doin?!" His wife slapped his arm, causing him to wince and cradle the afflicted area. One of the downsides of being with someone who had an Aura when you didn't. He gave her a light shove and turned. "Dammit Marjorie, that stings!" She took his injured appendage and kissed it softly.

"Better?" He harrumphed and she chuckled. "You just put little Ivory down for bed dear, maybe we don't yell and wake her up?" The bald man grumbled again before turning back to Artis.

"You alright Art? Feeling those pre-Initiation jitters?" He shrugged and let his hand run across Dusty's flank.

"Yea, something like that." The bald man gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You'll knock em dead, son. I've got a feeling in my gut that says this time is special. Something's different this time around." Artis grinned.

"You sure that's not just Mom's cooking making your stomach act up?" She put on a mask of mock hurt.

"You wound me!" His father tossed one of the throw pillows at her.

"In all seriousness though, I know you'll get in this time. Seventh time's the charm right?" He offered a reassuring smile and his mother appeared back on screen. "Just do your best Artis, it's all anyone can ask of you. If it doesn't work out, then you'll always have a home to come back to and a family that loves you." Artis knew what he was trying to do. Even if what he said was completely right, and he had no reason to think it wasn't, he'd still be going home a failure. That was something he couldn't let happen, not anymore. The blue haired woman nodded and took her Scroll from her husband's hand.

"We love you so much baby. You're gonna be an amazing Huntsman one day just like I trained you to be." Artis smiled and began to scratch Dusty behind his ears, causing the animal to roll onto his back. His mother yawned. "It's getting late." Artis looked at the top corner of the screen.

"It's barely eight." She waved a hand.

"Like you said honey, we're old. We go to bed early." Artis chuckled again.

"Fair enough. Night guys, give Ivory a big wet kiss for me OK?" His mother smiled and inclined her head.

"Of course. Goodnight baby we both love you so much. Do your best tomorrow and know that no matter what happens, we're so proud of you." His father shuffled back onto screen.

"Get some rest Artis; you'll need it for tomorrow." He nodded again, waving his free hand.

"Sleep well guys, I'll call you tomorrow after Initiation." The bald man bowed his head and Artis's mother called from off-screen.

"Give Dusty our love too!" Artis smiled to himself, ending the call. By this time, it was no longer just him and the girl with the bow. People were filing in, taking the various available spots. Night had begun to set in, the fractured moon beginning to make its appearance. A voice called out and he turned to the source.

"Artis!" He smiled and waved.

"Hey Ruby." In a flash, she was before him, a pile of rose petals in her wake. She'd traded in her skirt and blouse for a black tank top and white sleeping pants complete with rose decals. _Did she have a rose phase when other girls went through the horse one?_ Another figure made its way to him, this one in a yellow tank and shorts barely able to be called as such. "Hey to you as well Yang." She grinned.

"How ya doin Artie?" He shook his head.

"Like I said before. Please, anything but Artie." She smiled mischievously.

"What's wrong with Artie? Does it make you _blue_?" Ruby groaned and fell onto her back like her sister's words caused her physical pain. Artis opened his mouth and closed it again.

"That was awful Yang." Ruby sat up, sitting cross legged. Yang scoffed.

"That was comedy gold dear baby sister. Take notes." Ruby just shook her head, turning to Artis.

"What'd you think of the Headmaster's speech?" He shrugged.

"Eh, it's the same speech as last year. And the year before that actually. I didn't even listen to it this time." Ruby nodded but Yang raised an eyebrow.

"You mentioned earlier that this wasn't your first time doing this. How many times have you tried this?" Artis knew she didn't mean anything by the question, probably just general curiosity. That didn't change the fact that her question caused his blood pressure to spike.

"Please let it go Yang." She cocked an eyebrow.

"It's not that big a deal, we're all friends here. Talk to us! Tell us about all the times you've tried to get into Beacon."

"It's none of your business, drop it." Artis hoped the venom in his voice would be enough

to get her to stop. _Why can't she just let it go? I don't want to talk about it, that should be the end of it._ The blonde doesn't back down, either not noticing or not caring about his tone.

"There's no need to bite my head off about it 'Artie.'" The logical part of his brain is trying to wrestle control away from his anger but it's fighting a losing battle. _You idiot! What are you doing? Why are you picking a fight on the first night?_

"There's no need to stick your nose where it doesn't belong either." He rose to his feet and she stepped forward. _Stop it! She just asked a question! Apologize and sit down like an adult, Artis._

"Excuse me for being curious 'Artie.'" Her eyes shifted from lilac to scarlet in an instant and the temperature of the room began to rise.

"You know what they say about curiosity killing the cat." _Don't threaten her! What did dad tell you about escalating the situation?_ She jabs a finger into his chest.

"That a threat?" Dusty begins to growl, a sound like rocks grinding down to dust against one another. _Great, now Dusty's getting in on this. Great, just great. You're going to ruin your chances at being a Huntsman because you couldn't handle a question. Smooth._ Ruby placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Guys stop. Please. You can't fight on the first night!" _Yes, listen to her, she's smart!_ Her pleas are ignored as the room filled up with students.

"Maybe it is." _Fuck._ Movement appeared behind her and he peered over her shoulder. The anger in his chest faltered and a smile tease his lips. The blonde raised an eyebrow and turned. Immediately the temperature dropped and she spewed out a small laugh. Behind her is the lanky blond boy from earlier that had thrown up all over the ship and her shoes. It seems he traded out his armor, hoodie, and jeans for a onesie. Not just any onesie either. It was pale blue with a massive rabbit face on the chest. The cherry on top though, were the floppy bunny slippers, complete with button eyes.

The anger between the two seemed to evaporate immediately, giving way to deep, raucous laughter. Their joy brought them to tears immediately and then to rolling on the ground. Ruby soon joined them. Several minutes passed before the three of them stop giggling, allowing Artis to sigh and lean against the wall.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. Trying to get into Beacon as many times as I have has made me a bit…." He stops, hunting for the proper word. "Sensitive about the topic." Yang nodded.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for pushing so hard and for losing my temper so easily." She extended a hand. "Forgive and forget?" The blue haired man inclined his head and shook her hand.

"Of course." His eyes go right to the clock on the wall. "You guys might wanna get to bed soon. Initiation starts early tomorrow morning." The two nod before Yang asks.

"Any tips you can tell us?" He placed a hand on his chin for a second before shaking his head.

"Nothing really outside of move quickly." The two girls nodded before waving and making their ways to their sleeping bags. In truth, there were hundreds of things he could've told them, from the location of the site, to the proper routes, to saying to have a landing strategy. However, even telling them the simple things increased his chances of not being amongst those to get a chess piece and at this point, he wasn't going to take the risk. Still, he wasn't willing to give them bad information on the chance that it could cause a problem if they get in. He pulled out his Scroll and went into his pictures. His daughter's face lit up his world and he kissed the screen lightly.

 _Goodnight little one. Sleep well._ He shoved the device back into his pocket before taking out his sleeping bag and setting up shop. He doubled the use of his backpack by using it as a pillow and looked up at the ceiling. _Please gods, let this be my last Initiation. I can't go home a failure again._ Several minutes later, sleep welcomed him like an old friend.

 **A/N: As always, reviews of all kinds are appreciated. If you hate my OC and want him tarred and feathered, tell me why. If you love him, sing his praises. If you're indifferent then let me know. I want all of your opinions on this. Chapter 2 comes out August 7** **th** **. As always, may fortune favor you all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy**

The sun rose over the horizon, rays piercing the windows like bullets. Artis sat in his bedroll, trying to keep himself awake through sheer force of will. Every instinct was telling him to let sleep claim him again as its own. The thin cover felt like a hug from his mother, the wooden floor felt like a luxury king size bed; his pillow pack was a cloud. He shook his head, bringing his hand up to wipe the sleep from his eyes. His movement stirred Dusty, who was even less apt to be relieved of rest. With a groan, he mustered up all of his morning strength and pushed the covers off of him. He placed a hand down, pushing himself up to his feet and extracting his toothbrush and toothpaste from his bag.

Slowly but surely, he shambled his way into the locker room. Turning on the faucet, he cupped a handful of water and threw it into his own face. The icy shock drew out his energy and he began to brush his teeth. _Alright Artis, game time. This is the last Initiation. Today is your day. Today we make everyone back home proud, we prove to Mom that all the time knife fighting with her wasn't a waste. We show that all those hours on the range with Dad are going to be put to good use. We prove to Ivory that her daddy isn't a failure. This will be the day we've waited for._ With a spit and another handful of cold water to the face, he exited the locker room.

By this point, other Beacon applicants were stirring in their bedrolls. Artis made his way back to his things, gathering up his bag and clicking his tongue twice.

"Dusty, here." The animal trotted up to his side and he walked out the door. Putting on his bag, he began to stretch and take in the area. He knew the way to the cliffs like the back of his hand by his seventh attempt and starting heading out. Birds chirped and bugs made their daily rounds. He silently thanked the gods above for the decent weather. September mornings in the Kingdom of Vale were typically warm and a humid. Seems the gods blessed them with a low dew point and even lower winds. Higher humidity made his life all the harder, the extra weight it added to his bullets made him compensate more. Wind made everything about aiming harder. Several more minutes of walking brought him to the cliffs where Headmaster Ozpin was standing with his morning mug of coffee.

"Good morning Mr. Zaffre." Artis nodded, setting his pack down.

"Good morning Headmaster." The man wore the same green suit as yesterday. Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen the man in anything but the suit. _Does he not own any other clothes? Is the Headmaster of a Huntsman School somehow poor?_ The man in green popped his thought bubble.

"This is your seventh attempt at gaining admission into Beacon, correct?" Artis felt his blood boil for a moment and bit his tongue. It would do him no good to snap at the Headmaster, not matter how much he wanted to. Instead, the blue haired man grunted his confirmation. "I see." The man turned from the cliffs to Artis. "Allow me to offer a bit of advice then. A small reward for your dogged determination." He took a step forward. "Have fun in the cave Mr. Zaffre." Artis raised an eyebrow. _What the hell does that mean? 'Have fun in the cave.'_

"What do you mean Headmaster?" The man took a sip of his drink, saying nothing. After several seconds of silence, Artis shook his head and dropped to one knee, taking out Ivory's Song and slipping his knife onto his hip. With the tap of a button, his rifle extended and Artis ran his fingers over the cold white steel. He brought the scope to his eye, checking the rangefinder and wind log. His fingers traced up the side to pull back the bolt and clear the chamber. With the press of another button on the bottom, the magazine ejected and he began to inspect the weapon. The custom (and very expensive) armored jacketed rounds gleamed in the sunlight. Instead of gunpowder, each round was packed with Wind Dust, allowing them to travel significantly faster. The Wind Dust coupled with the alloy jacket made the rounds a Grimm's, and whatever happened to be behind it, worst nightmare.

He ejected each round, double checking that there was no Dust leaking or any damage to the jacket. When he was satisfied, he reloaded the shells and slapped the magazine right back into its home. Artis looked up to see Headmaster Ozpin staring at him. The man gave a small smile after sipping his drink.

"You're very thorough in your weapon checks, aren't you Mr. Zaffre?" Artis nodded.

"When she's clean she's happy. When she's happy she's a lot more likely to do what I ask." He watched Ozpin give a silent laugh.

"Your weapon or your daughter?" Artis paused and shrugged.

"Yes." He let out a hum as the footsteps of students echoed behind Artis. Professor Goodwitch made her way from the group to the Headmaster's side. Potential Huntsman and Huntresses began to mill about in the clearing and when all had gathered, the Headmaster spoke.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." From there, his subordinate took over.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors of about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to the confusion. You will all be receiving your teammates… today." She let the sentence hang in the air, letting the minds of his fellow initiates wander. Headmaster Ozpin spoke again.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." He raised his mug and gave a small smirk. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Artis could almost hear the collective hearts of those around him crack into a million tiny pieces. So many plans and strategies were being tossed off the cliff much like they were about to be. A familiar voice cried out.

"WHAT!?" The Headmaster paid Ruby no mind, continuing.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path. Or you will die." Everyone here had faced Grimm, it was something everyone who attended Combat School had to do at one point or another. Death by the monsters was a nearly a given for Huntsmen and Huntresses, they all knew that. Still, it always feels different when someone in authority says it out loud. His words sent chills up and down Artis's spine. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of Initiation but the instructors will _not_ intervene. In the northern end of the forest, you will find several relics. Each pair of students will choose one and return to the cliffs. From there, you will be given your grade as well as your standing." His eyes scanned the group of students. "Are there any questions?"

Vomit Boy stuck his hand in the air, his voice quivering.

"Yea, um, sir-" The Headmaster cut him off, eliciting a small chuckle from Artis.

"Good! Now take your positions on the pads." Artis stepped to the pad closest to him, from experience he knew none were launched at the same time so going first gave a distinct advantage. The blue haired main kept his knees bent and took a deep breath. Dusty took the spot behind his master. He exhaled, only to hear Jaune open his mouth again.

"Uh sir? I've got, um, a question." Artis never got to hear it, for as soon as the lanky blond finished his sentence, he and Dusty were catapulted into the air. The wind was intense, to say the least. Still, he made himself as wide as he could, attempting to slow himself down. Behind him, he heard gunshots going off and then in an instant, a flash of blonde rocketed right past him. _Was the person using their weapon to go… faster?_ _Kids these days…_ Artis spied a clearing coming up and braced himself. Aura or not, the landing was going to hurt, it always did.

He tried to time it so he could roll and dissipate the force, minimizing the damage to his body. It was simple but it had worked in the previous years and, as his father was fond of saying.

"If it ain't broke, don't fixit."

It wasn't a great plan but it was better than seeing if his face was made of rubber and it had been kept a secret from him his whole life. His hands made contact with the grass first and he allowed his wrists and elbows to bend. He brought his neck forward so he didn't break it and let physics do the rest. In the excitement of starting Initiation and checking his weapons however, Artis had made a mistake he'd never made before; forgetting to remove his backpack.

His back made contact with the ground and had it been just his back, he would have continued to roll until his dissipated enough force to land safely. Sadly, the bag changed his trajectory and he began to grind through the dirt with the bag as his focal point. He screamed and did everything he could to protect himself while also slowing himself down. After several seconds (and several more bushes) he ground to a halt and laid there to catch his breath.

 _Not a good start._ He rolled to his side and then pushed himself to his feet. The bag itself dumped its contents on the ground and Artis groaned loudly at the skies above.

"Why?" He sighed and began to collect his things. Thanks to this little debacle, he'd need a new toothbrush, set of clothes, bedroll, and, if the feeling of broken glass prodding into his buttocks was to be believed, a new Scroll. His hand found his back pocket and extracted the device. He sighed and flopped down on the ground against a tree. It was in very poor shape, the screen was marred with missing pieces of glass, which he suspected were imbedded into him, as well as cracks in the remaining areas. It had also gained a fun new bent shape that would make standard voice calls easier since the microphone on the lower portion was now sticking out at a ninety degree angle. With a grunt, he pushed himself back to his feet, dumped the broken Scroll into an empty pocket, and began to look around. _Don't tell me Dusty got knocked off course or something. Really don't need that today._

"Where in the hell is that do-" A mineral missile crashed into him with enough force to smash a normal man into paste. Thanks to Aura though, Artis was only subjugated to significant pain and being smashed into the tree he'd been sitting against. Sufficiently concussed, Artis looked down at his companion to see the creature staring back, tongue lolling and drool dripping from his mouth, looking no worse for wear. His tail wagged and he rolled onto his back for belly rubs. Artis stared at the animal, attempting to see if he could melt stone with his mind. After several seconds of trying, he came to the conclusion that he could not and settled for standing up and flicking Dusty on the nose. He gave a small whine.

"This is why you stand _next_ to me, not _behind_." Dusty stared at him, panting. "You know what? Whatever." He checked to make sure no bones were broken and that his knife and gun were still in working order. He also made sure to retrieve the things from the bag that weren't totally ruined. _At least I won't have to get a new charger when I get a new Scroll…_ He stuffed the cord into the same pocket as the busted Scroll and decided there was no time to mourn the loss of his possessions. Artis brought his rifle to bear and took a deep breath before heading northwest. _Find the cave, get the piece, get a partner, and get to the cliff. Nice and easy._

A shrill scream from above caused Artis to turn. It was then that he was struck by a blond meteor, causing the blue haired man to become acquainted with the tree again. He lied against the tree, cursing his luck and the object that struck him. His head felt like it had been stepped on by a Goliath and his body felt like it'd been taken to task by a particularly angry Ursa. To top it all off, the weight atop him suddenly doubled over, spewing stomach contents onto his lap. _Now I need new pants too…_ Had Artis been in less pain, he would have jumped up and tossed the weight off of him, screaming obscenities so full of venom that whatever hit him might go into anaphylactic shock. However, he _was_ in that much pain so he looked to the skies above, mouthing a single word. _Why?_

The weight moved and sapphires stared up at Artis, the person brought a hand to their mouth and wiped away the excess vomit before scrambling away in a panic.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to crash into you and I definitely didn't mean to throw up on you!" More apologies were given and Artis sighed before looking down from the sky and to the boy in front of him, locking eyes.

"I hate you Jaune, I really do." The boy nodded, letting his head hang. Artis dragged himself to his feet and offered out a hand. "Get up. We're partners now, for better or worse. I know where to go so just follow me." Jaune nodded again, taking the hand and standing up. The blue haired man took a scrap of ruined backpack and attempted to wipe off his pants. After several minutes, only the smell remained along with a stain. _I liked these pants too…_ He looked to the boy, preparing a tirade to make up for not giving one earlier and noticed a trickle of blood rolling down his forehead. "Oh my gods!" The blond immediately began to turn around, his eyes wide.

"What?! What?! Did you see a Grimm?" Artis walked up to the boy, holding him still.

"You're bleeding from your forehead Jaune." The boy sighed and reached up with a hand to wipe it away.

"Thanks, wouldn't want to have that get in my eyes or stain my hoodie or something."

"That must've been quite a fall for you the damage to have gone right through your Aura." Jaune pushed his hair back, removing the last of the blood. Another second passed before Artis replied. "Why isn't your Aura closing the wound?" The blond stared at him.

"My what should've what now?" The blue haired man's brows furrowed and after a second, he let out a laugh, slapping his knee.

"Good one kid. Almost got me there for a second." He wiped a tear from his eye. "You're funny Jaune; maybe this won't be so bad." Dusty trotted over and started sniffing the boy's shoes. Jaune gave an awkward laugh and replied.

"Uh… I wasn't kidding though. What's Aura?" Artis had made a move to start walking but paused mid step. _He's messing with me. He has to be messing with me. Either that or I'm hearing him wrong._ _He did NOT just say what I think he said right?_

"You're telling me that you _don't_ know what Aura is?" He nodded. Artis put strode by over to the boy, pressing a finger into his chest plate. "Don't fuck with me Jaune; you really don't know what Aura is?" He shook his head. "How the hell did you survive that fall without Aura?" He shrugged. "You know what? We'll deal with this later. I'm going to use my Aura to unlock yours and we're going to get through Initiation and then we're going to have a very long talk. Get me?" Each word was punctuated by another jab into his chest. "Give me your hand, close your eyes, and concentrate." The boy acquiesced.

Artis closed his eyes and felt him breathe out his own soul. Power and energy flowed through him and into the boy. Chains snapped, locks turned, and the world was cast in a blinding white light. Words flowed from his lips. "Through our actions and deeds we are never forgotten, through the defense of those who cannot defend themselves are we granted immortality. Endless is our determination, limitless is our potential. To stand when no other will, to give those that come after us a better life, I bestow this responsibility upon thee." A spark of energy flowed into his hand and Artis took a step back, breathing heavily.

"You've got a lot of Aura kid." Jaune's eyes opened. The blue haired man watched as the wound on the teen's forehead closed. "I guess I should explain exactly what Aura is, shouldn't I?" The boy nodded, his hands shaking.

"That'd be nice. I feel like… like… like I can do anything right now! It's amazing!" His whole body was vibrating like he was full of angry rapier wasps. _Ahh yea, I remember that feeling._

"Short version is that I weaponized your soul. You're stronger, faster, and tougher. Aura acts as a shield, without it an Ursa would cleave you in half. Now it'll just hurt a lot. With training you can do other things with it. I've heard that some people can enhance their hands with it, essentially making their hands into hammers." The boy's eyes lit up.

"So I'm like a real life superhero?" Artis shrugged.

"Sorta. Before you ask no, you can't fly. You can give it a shot but you'll just fall and I'll laugh at you." He slumped a bit. _Yea that's the same reaction I had._ "Also, Aura enhances your healing so if your Aura fails you or you get hurt, letting it regenerate will help you get better. That being said, physics still applies to you and your organs still move around in your body. You can still get sick and you're not invincible. The other downsides are that if you run out, you'll probably pass out immediately; it really takes a toll on your body. Still, the biggest flaw with Aura is that now that you've got it on, Grimm will be drawn to you." As if to drive his point home, Dusty began growling and red eyes peered out from the bushes a second later. "That thing on your hip better be a weapon or you better be really damn fast."

The blond pulled a sword from its scabbard and, with the press of a button, the same scabbard extended into a kite shield. Artis turned to Dusty.

"Dusty, hit." As soon as the words left his lips, a Beowulf leapt from the shrubbery, claws extended. Dusty leapt to meet the creature, slamming his head into its chest. The crack of bone echoed as the Grimm tried to rend Dusty with its claws. The animal all but ignored the damage done to its Aura as he tore into its throat, black blood and bile spewing like a fountain of ink. Several seconds passed before Dusty stepped off the now deceased creature, making his way back to his master.

"Good boy Dusty, good boy." Artis dropped to a knee, scratching the dog under his chin and behind his ears. Black blood dripped from his jaws as his tongue lolled. Jaune let his arms fall to his sides, turning to the blue haired man.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Artis stood, nodding.

"You're right, follow me." He began marching northwest, letting his rifle rest in his hands. His finger sat just outside the trigger guard, tapping on the steel. _Alright, if I'm remembering it correctly, the cave should be about half a mile from here. If we hustle, we can be there and out in an hour._ It felt like a good plan but things rarely go according to plan. Their walk was mostly in silence as Artis was focused on finding his desired location and Jaune was working on not jumping at every little sound. The trio pushed through a mass of bushes, coming to a large rock formation with a large hole. On the side, just to the right of the entrance were drawings of people fighting a massive scorpion with bows and arrows.

"This is it. This is where Ozpin puts the relics." Jaune stepped forward, running his hand along the paintings.

"Are you sure?" Artis waved a hand.

"Sure I'm sure. This is where he's put them the last six years. Why would he change it up now?"

"Were these paintings always here?" Artis nodded.

"Yea, they've been in there as long as I can remember." He sighed. "That's actually why I didn't make it the first time. Thought the paintings were a warning and didn't go in. Never made that mistake again." With a gesture, he walked in, Dusty at his side. "Come on, let go in and get this over with." The blond nodded, following in. Several steps in, a thought crossed his mind. _'Have fun in the caves Mr. Zaffre.' What could that possibly mean? Did he put traps in here or something? That'd be so like Ozpin to make this that much harder. It'd make sense; he knows there are students who aren't taking this for the first time. Maybe it's meant to even the playing field?_ He was torn from his thoughts by a thud and a small yell. Artis turned to see Jaune face down on the ground. With a sigh, he offered a hand.

"Get up, we're close now." The boy took his hand and stood. "We should have some light though, your Scroll still working?" The blond took out his device, tapping a button on the screen and light filled the area in front of them. "Good work. Let's keep moving." Jaune nodded, moving forward. They walked for about a minute before Artis stopped. "It feel warm in here to you?"

"Yea, a bit. Is it always like this?" Artis said nothing and a massive glowing orb appeared from the dark. _That's not normal…_ Jaune turned off his light, making his way forward. "This is it right? The relic we're supposed to be looking for?" He reached out, grabbing at the 'relic.' It moved, backing up a few inches. "Hey! Bad… relic… thing." He extended his hand again, coming up with the same result. A light tapping sound began. _Wait a second, I know that noise…_ Jaune leapt forward, getting his hands on the 'relic.' He began to rise upwards. _Oh shit!_

"Jaune no!" In that moment, a red glow was cast in the cave and eyes appeared. A deep hiss erupted from the glow and Jaune screamed like a teenager about to be murdered by a giant scorpion. It was quite fitting actually. Turning tail immediately, Artis sprinted out of the cave with only one thing going through his mind. _Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!_ He had about a five second head start and had reached the exit before the Deathstalker could smash it to pieces. The beast emerged; thrashing its claws about and relishing its new found space. Jaune was crying out.

"Artis! Artis this is not the relic! It's not!" In the back of Artis's mind he thought. _No shit._ "Artis do something! Please!" As he opened his mouth, the beast thrashed again, its tail going back and flinging Jaune forward off of it. He flew high in the air, gliding over the tree line like a blond shooting star until his screams were but a memory. The Grimm monstrosity now turned its sights on him and Artis felt his very blood screaming at him. _RUN!_ So he did. With Dusty in tow, the two ran harder than ever before. Every ounce of his energy was being used on his legs as the snaps and roars of the Deathstalker echoed just behind him. He broke through the tree line to see five people standing around a pile of ruins. A deep screech filled the air and he dared a glance upwards to see a massive Nevermore eyeing them. His risk was punished as the claw of the Deathstalker finally got close enough to hit him. It collided with his back and in that moment he very much regretted not wearing armor like his partner. In the next moment, he was at the feet of the group of five.

He rolled onto his back and sat up, only to be smashed back down into the ground by Dusty for the second time that day. He pushed the animal off of him and stared at it, his gaze half full of frustration and concern. Dusty rolled onto his feet and glared at the Deathstalker, a growl building in his throat. A voice spoke.

"Great! The gang's all here. Now we can die together." Artis turned to see Yang, Ruby, the girl with the bow from earlier, the talkative ginger in a pink skirt, as well as boy in green she was talking with at the opening ceremony. Behind the group though, he saw pedestal with black and gold chess pieces on them. His was drawn to them like a moth to flame and shambled his way over, eyes locked onto the first piece he saw, a golden knight. Artis stared at it like it'd disappear if he looked away. _There it is._ He counted his steps. _One, two, three, four._ Every step felt like a mile, he began to pick up speed. _There it is!_ Soon he was running, all sounds had faded to a white noise, everything but the knight was a blur of color. Nothing else mattered in that moment, not the kids behind him, the Nevermore or Deathstalker, not even Ivory. In that moment, there was only Artis and the golden knight.

As he reached the pedestal it sat on, he touched it just to know that it was real. He fell to his knees, snagging the piece and clutching it to his chest. He squeezed it tighter than he'd ever squeezed anything before. _It's mine. I'm in. I'm a student at Beacon! I… I'm not a failure anymore._ He looked to the sky above, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Time passed, Artis wasn't sure how long though. His hand uncurled and he stared at his prize. _I've spent the last six years trying to get you. You're not getting away anytime soon._ He stuffed it in one of his lower pockets, making sure it was safe before turning around.

He saw a row of Nevermore quills sticking out of the ground like monuments to suffering. One had Ruby's cape pinned into the ground. Yang lay on the ground on the closer side of the quills to him. Behind Ruby, the Schnee girl stood, berating the hooded girl about being childish if he heard correctly. Behind _her_ stand the Deathstalker, its massive stinger and a claw frozen to each other and the ground. _Why aren't they attacking the Deathstalker? It can't fight back, kill it!_ Yang opted for hugging her sister and unpinning her from the ground. Jaune joined the group a second later, pointing upwards.

"Guys, that thing's coming back. What are gonna do?" Artis reached behind his back and pulled out Ivory's Song. _I know what we're gonna do…_ He dropped to a knee and flipped off the cap on the scope. He knew he wouldn't need it for a Deathstalker but it made him feel a bit better to have it ready if he needed it for something else. He took a deep breath, steadying his aim. _We need to deal with this Deathstalker and fast. We won't be able to focus on the Nevermore if we have to keep dodging this thing._

"EVERYBODY MOVE!" He called. All eyes turned to him and widened accordingly. The teens cleared the path thankfully _._ Another breath in, as he exhaled he pulled the trigger. It was as if thunder struck in that moment. The kick from Ivory's Song drove the weapon into his shoulder, causing a noticeable ache. A fraction of a second later, the Deathstalker howled in pain. He'd been aiming at the pinned stinger, thinking that if he could get rid of it; their lives would get much easier. The creature began to thrash about but the ice held it still as he took another shot at the same target. Thunder clapped and pain flared in his shoulder again. The force of the bullet sent cracks through the ice, weakening it. This was all the Deathstalker needed as another thrash freed the creature. Inky blood oozed from the stinger as its claws snapped and pinched.

 _That kinda worked._ Artis was about to call out order but it wasn't needed. The boy in green was peppering the Grimm with rounds and the girl with him followed suit, firing off grenades at its face. The Grimm brought its pincers to cover its face, its tail still thrashing. Artis took another breath, steadying his aim.

"Dusty, Guard." The dog moved to his master's side, a tactic they'd practiced for years.

Immediately, he turned from the battle, eyes and nose set to detecting other threats from the forest. Yang rushed forward, pounding her fists into the creature. It brought its pincers back to protect its face and eyes but the downpour of strikes served for an excellent distraction. The girl with the bow saw an opportunity and tossed out her weapon, using the ribbon it was attached to to wrap around the tail. She motioned to Jaune, the boy in green, and the ginger girl. They came to her side and dragged the stinger back into the ground. The Schnee jammed her rapier into the ground, summoning another ice prison. With the tail extended, and the beast distracted, Artis knew what he had to do.

Ivory's Song gave an encore, her shots finding the center of the tail. Artis called out.

"Ruby! Hit it!" She nodded, lunging forward in a bloom of roses, scythe brought to bear. Shots rang out as she gathered speed. Every second left more rose petals in her wake. _Damn she's fast_. With precision good enough to bring a tear to Artis's eye, Ruby's Crescent Rose struck true, blade connecting with the weakened tail. In a single motion, the stinger fell harmlessly to the ground, causing a geyser of black blood to erupt. Ruby looked back and he nodded.In its rage filled and injured state, the Deathstalker's pincers flailed, giving Yang the room she needed. She rushed in, pounding her fists into its face, gunshots ringing out. Her voice bellowed out in a war cry and after several seconds, the creature's thrashing slowed to a stop. The only sound remaining was cold steel meeting bloodied flesh. Eventually though, that stopped too and heavy breathing filled the air. Ruby called out.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Yang gave a smile to her younger sister, shaking the blood from her gauntlets. The boy in green pointed one of his weapons to the sky.

"There's still the Nevermore to deal with." As if on cue, the creature let out an ear rending screech. It flapped its wings, sending out another volley of razor quills. The group scattered and Artis pointed his scope to the sky as the Nevermore swooped past, talons attempting to steal away potential prey. It was deceptively fast and most of the group would be useless against it unless they brought it to the ground. Artis spoke.

"We can't shoot that thing down, anyone got any bright ideas?" Everyone was silent for a beat before the ginger girl snapped her fingers.

"I've got it!" All eyes turned to her. "I'll smash it into the ground!" The Schnee opened her mouth before closing it again. The boy in green replied.

"Nora, we need to get it on the ground before you can smash it." No words were spoken until Jaune opened his mouth, his hand cupping his chin.

"Maybe not. How high can you jump Nora?" Artis saw a gleam in her eye, something feral, unnerving and, if he wasn't mistaken, hungry.

"Very very high." Jaune nodded.

"Alright, when that thing starts to make another pass, I want you to run at me and use my shield as a springboard then smash the Nevermore down to the ground. If you can bring your hammer down on its head, you can drive it into the ground. We can take it from there." She smiled a disturbing smile and nodded, backing up to give herself a better running start. Artis looked to his partner but before he could say anything, the white haired girl spoke.

"Are you insane!? What could possibly make you think jumping into the air to hit a _Nevermore_ with a _hammer_ is a good idea!?" Jaune opened his mouth to reply but was cut off. "No, don't answer that. We need to retreat, regroup, and come up with a plan of attack." Another ear-splitting shriek rang out and more quills rained down. Yang called out after ducking behind a tree.

"No time for that Ice Queen, we need to deal with this now before any more Grimm show up." The girl in the bow nodded.

"She's right. The plan isn't the most… safe but it's the best idea we've got." The Schnee threw her hands up in a huff but didn't push the issue any further. In the sky, Artis watched as the Nevermore swooped back around to make another pass with its claws. He looked to Jaune and nodded.

"Ready Nora?" She said nothing, offering another smile and a nod instead. The Grimm began its descent and Nora took off in a dead sprint. Jaune braced and as Nora's boot made contact, he shoved up with as much of his newly acquired strength as he could. Artis tried to focus his ears as he looked at the flying ginger. _Is she… laughing….?_ He shook the thought from his head and watched as he felt time begin to slow. At the height of her jump, a shot rang out and she began to spin end over end. Like Remnant's most dangerous spinning top, her hammer collided not with the Nevermore's head, but with its back. An unholy sound spewed from the creature's beak as the weapon made contact along with a sickening crack. Instead of driving the thing into the ground, she managed to bring it to the tree line. The Grimm clipped its wing on a tree and then another, and another. Several trees later, the creature disappeared from view. The boy in green called out.

"Nora!" he broke off in a run towards the creature. The group followed after him as shrieks of agony echoed throughout the forest. _That's not good._ The noise came to an abrupt stop, spurring the group to move even faster. They broke through the tree line into a clearing that looked like it'd been hit by a tornado. Snapped branches and trunks alike were strewn about like children's toys. The group saw Nora, sitting atop a dead Nevermore, kicking her feet as they dangled off the edge of its wing like some demented child from a movie. She gave a massive smile and waved.

"That was fun! Can we do it again?" All eyes were on her, most jaws were on the ground. The boy in green opened his mouth to speak but only gave a sigh before making his way to her. He offered a hand, which she accepted, and he helped her back to the ground.

"Please don't do that again Nora." She smiled and poked her finger to the tip of his nose.

"Boop." She turned to her comrades, cocking an eyebrow. "What? Do I have a stick in my hair?" She ran her hand through it, pushing out a stray leaf or three before blowing the excess locks from her face. She shot the group another smile. Artis looked to his left at Dusty who simply sat there panting. He turned to his right to see the Schnee's jaw joining his on the ground. The two shared a look that must've given them temporary telepathy.

 _That girl is off her rocker!_ Several seconds passed before he closed his mouth, hearing Yang make a comment about catching flies or something. Artis shook himself back to reality and patted his pocket for the knight.

"Well, now that that's all over. We should get back to the cliffs and get Initiation over with." The group nodded and the party made their way there. As they fell into normal conversations, Artis's mind wandered. _I'm in! I'm really in! Maybe dad was right, this time is going to be different._

 **A/N: I want to apologize about the fight scene at the end. It came out more clunky than I'd have liked but I'm out of practice writing them. The last one I wrote was nearly two years ago I think and none have been for RWBY. I come from the Coeur school of thought when it comes to the opening of Aura and the reason why everyone doesn't have it open. If you liked this chapter let me know, if you hated it also let me know. As always may fortune favor you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please enjoy chapter 3, I apologize for the delay. I ask that you all read the A/N at the end**

For the first time in a long time, Artis Zaffre stood in unfamiliar territory. For seven years, he'd made his way to Beacon only to fail Initiation and be sent home. He was intimately familiar with the Emerald Forest as well as the airship port. He knew his was around the outside grounds, where all the bathrooms were, where the locker room was, the nurse's office. Artis even knew the library inside and out. He'd tried a few years ago to see if it would have anything that would give him an advantage in the forest. It did not. It was odd for the twenty-four year old father to be treading new ground. He had seen the room he was in before, hell, he'd been in the room just yesterday. It was the same room Ozpin always gave the opening commencement address in.

He'd never seen it quite like this though. The lights were dimmed, upper year students as well as alumni lined the walls and floor as two massive holographic blocks dominated the space above the stage. Artis was seeing the room from a new perspective; the stage. He and his team were waiting their turn to be officially formed and given their designation. He let his eyes wander from the Headmaster to the crowd. He spotted several people from his previous attempts, most didn't recognize him but the few that did either gave him welcoming smiles or points of degradation. Artis paid it no mind, it wasn't his concern what those outside of his team thought of him. He was fully aware of the names he'd be labeled with upon actually getting into Beacon. Failure, waste, chump, fuck up, and everything in between.

Sweat began to trickle from his hands as the nerves kicked in. Ozpin was saying something about the team being formed in front of his own. Something something something, Team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester. Whatever. The four boys stepped offstage and Ozpin gestured for his own team to step forward. Artis's hand found Dusty's head, running his fingers along the smooth stone. His stomach was in knots and he was equally tempted to sprint offstage to call his family as he was to sit still and wait for the proper designation. _Alright man, play it cool. Act like you've been here before…_ He looked to his left to see a blond mop of hair. Jaune kept wringing his hands and looking around the room. Ozpin's voice called out, drawing the boy's attention. _He looks like he's going to throw up…_

"Jaune Arc, Artis Zaffre, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee. The four of you recovered the golden knight pieces." Artis's hands went behind his back, squeezing one another as tightly as possible. He had to take his mind off the ceremony itself, lest his heart burst. _I wonder if I'll be named leader. It would make sense. I'm the oldest, I've got the most experience fighting Grimm, and I've got the most general combat experience as well._ He spared a glance to his teammates, nodding internally. _Yea, I'll probably be named Leader. How should I lead? Should I make big grandiose speeches or lead by example? Eh, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it._

"From this day forward you will work together as…" He paused for a second. _Yes, yes Ozpin we get it. You wanna build suspense. Could you do it a bit faster please!? Some of us have been waiting a very long time for this moment and would like to actually get there._ "Team JARS." A chorus of applause broke out but there was a very vocal undercurrent of laughter. He felt his eyes go wide and his hands flex. _He's kidding. He has to be kidding. There is no way in hell that Ozpin is going to call us Team fucking JARS!_ "Led by… Jaune Arc." Artis felt his eyes fall out of his head and roll around on the ground. The team all turned to their new leader.

"What!?" He heard not only his own voice but Weiss's as well. Ozpin leaned forward to the blond boy.

"Congratulations young man." He said nothing in return, offering to stand there open mouthed like a post color revolution portrait. The newly formed team was ushered off the stage by Professor Goodwitch. Artis looked to Jaune and then back to her. Weiss had started arguing with the teacher immediately.

"Professor, this is ludicrous! How is that madman qualified to lead a team?" Goodwitch pressed her glasses upwards, cradling a tablet in her hand.

"Ms. Schnee, I will have you know that Mr. Arc here is perfectly capable of leading a team. He had experience doing so at Combat School and showed an aptitude during Initiation as well." Weiss's eyes widened.

"What aptitude!? He suggested that the other deranged person in this class try to fight a _Nevermore_ in the air with a Warhammer! Those aren't the marks of a great leader, they're indications of insanity!" The Professor's eyes narrowed.

"Ms. Schnee, you would do well to remember who you're talking to." Weiss's cheeks turned from a snow white to a deep scarlet, beginning to sputter out an apology that went ignored by the older woman. "That being said, I do agree that Mr. Arc's tactics are… unconventional. However, the Headmaster is an excellent judge of character and it is his opinion that he" She motioned to Jaune. "is leadership material. That is final." She turned and walked away. Weiss looked to Artis and Ruby.

"You two can't possibly think this is a good idea, can you?" Artis nodded.

"I'm inclined to agree with you. I mean, he didn't even know what Aura was this morning. Or have it unlocked." _Also didn't seem too keen on fighting prowess either…_ If Weiss's eyes could've, they would've popped from her skull and began to fly away.

"WHAT!?" She gripped the blond boy's shoulder tightly. "What did he mean that you didn't know what Aura was today? How did you get through combat school without it!?" His gaze found the floor and he shrugged, cheeks blazing red.

"Uhh, quick wits?" Artis scoffed.

"Bullshit. You got about as many quick wits as I do pairs of wings. I'd buy that you're ridiculously lucky though." The girls turned to him, an eyebrow raised on each of their faces. "First thing that happens is that he comes flying out of the sky like some kinda meteor and smashes me into the ground. Not only does he survive it, he only ends up with a scratch on his forehead. All without Aura." Ruby's eyes lit up and she turned to the boy.

"That's awesome! Did you like do a flip and cartwheel into him? Did you use your weapon and spin around a tree to slow down? How did you do it?" Weiss removed her hand from his shoulder.

"It's more than likely that his…" She paused to look the boy over, a small sneer present on her face. "Loose fitting attire managed to slow his descent enough. Coupled with landing on a person and not a tree or the ground, it's very possible for one to survive a fall like that with only minor injuries." Jaune ran a hand through his hair, pushing it from his eyes and smiling awkwardly.

"I guess when you say it all out loud; I do sound pretty lucky…" He let out a sigh and looks to each of his teammates. "I know I may not be the best choice for leader, but I'm going to do my best and give it everything I've got. You have my word and an Arc never goes back on his word." Ruby smiled and nodded.

"You're gonna be a great leader, I'm with you Jaune." Artis looked down to Dusty, sharing a look before exhaling. _He's either absurdly lucky or ridiculously skilled and based off of what I saw in the forest, I'm gonna go with lucky. Maybe it'll rub off on the team… Fuck it._

"Alright, you're not the ideal choice but maybe you'll surprise me." All eyes turned to Weiss. Her hands balled up into fists and she grumbled.

"Do whatever you want. I'm going to talk to the Professor and the Headmaster about this." She stalked away in a huff. The group turned as Ozpin finished creating the last team.

"Lie Ren, Yang Xiao-Long, Blake Belladonna, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you recovered the golden Rook pieces." He paused again. _Come on Ozpin, quit doing that. It's nerve wracking._ "From this day forward, you will work together as…" Another pause. "Team RYBN or Ribbon." A chorus of applause rang out. _Why aren't they getting laughed at!? Ribbon is just as stupid as JARS!_ He turned to the fickle youths. _Kids suck._ He paused his train of thought as memories of Ivory came to mind. _Most kids suck._ Ozpin spoke again. "Led by Lie Ren." Another round of applause resounded from the crowd.

"Thus ends the Team Formation Ceremony." The shuffling of feet and the cacophony of hundreds of conversations drowned out all other noises. Ozpin spoke again. "First year students will receive their room assignments momentarily, as for everyone else, enjoy the rest of your day" A second later, Artis watched as Ruby and Jaune both pulled out their devices. He reached for his own only to have his hand met with broken glass. _Oh yea…_

"I'll be right back." Dusty and he hustled over to the Headmaster before he could exit. "Excuse me, Headmaster?" The tall man turned and took a sip from his mug.

"Ah Mr. Zaffre, congratulations on passing Initiation this year. Did you have fun in the caves?" _This son of a bitch._ Artis crossed his arms.

"I can't say that I did sir, a bit too… Deathstalkery for my tastes." Ozpin gave a small chuckle.

"You can see why I had to move the site now."

"How did that thing even get in there?" The man shrugged.

"Where there's a will there's a way Mr. Zaffre, surely you know that." He took another swig from his mug, his eyes staring at the young man. Artis let out a breath.

"I guess so. But I didn't come to ask about that." The man raised an eyebrow and the blue haired man pulled out his sculpture of broken glass and dirt. A piece that he had dedicated to Beacon Academy. He called it "Landing Strategy." "I was wondering if there's someone on campus that could help me fix this or if I have to go into Vale to this weekend." Ozpin nodded.

"Talk to Professor Goodwitch, she keeps several in her office for students." Artis raised an eyebrow. "Surely you don't think you're the first student to break a Scroll during Initiation?" Artis shrugged.

"Didn't think about it if I'm being honest." Ozpin gestured to the piece.

"With something as crucial as a piece of technology that keeps track of you and your teammates Auras, locations, and allows you to keep in contact with them, your Scroll is nearly as important as your weapon. We keep several spares for emergencies like this." He gave a small smirk. "After all, that tuition lien has to go somewhere." The man didn't wait for Artis's reply before turning and walking away. "Goodbye Mr. Zaffre, have a pleasant day." he wasn't more than ten steps away when he turned back around. "Do you smell… vomit, Mr. Zaffre?" He wafted a hand and scrunched his face. Artis's eyes immediately went south. _Shit. Guess I'll need to change into my spare clothes…_ He then remembered that he had a spare pair of pants in his bag, the same bag whose contents had been destroyed in his fall. _Looks like I get to go shopping this weekend._

Artis took a big whiff of the air in front of him, making sure to ignore the acrid smell of vomit. He took great care to mask what the scent was doing to him and turned his hips so the stain wouldn't be visible to the man.

"I don't smell anything Headmaster. One of the other first years could've throw up backstage though. You know how people get when they're nervous." The man shook his head, brown eyes meeting yellow.

"You're probably right Mr. Zaffre. Still, it smells like it's right in front of me…" _Stupid Jaune, this is all his fault. He's doing all of my laundry for the rest of the semester!_ Artis took another deep breath of the air around him before starting to walk away.

"Either way, thank you for telling me where to get a new Scroll. Good luck in finding the source of that smell!" He called out as he retreated. His eyes fell to the stain again, a dull yellow outline in the middle of his lap. He'd like to think he'd done an admirable job of cleaning it off but there was only so much that could be done when in a forest. His feet carried him back to his team.

"Hey guys, I gotta go get a new Scroll from Goodwitch, then I'll find Weiss, and meet you at the dorm, OK?" The two nodded and he was off again. After several hallways, and several missed turns, he came to the Professor's office. Voices could be heard from the other side, one sounded distinctly agitated. He tapped his knuckles on the door. Someone, presumably the Professor, called out.

"Come in." He opened the door to find the blonde woman sitting behind her desk, head resting atop her hands. Light streamed in through the large windows on the far side and a bookshelf sat behind her packed to the brim with reading material. Across from the visibly annoyed woman was Weiss, a scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. "Mr. Zaffre, if you're here to file a complaint about your team's leader then I'll have to ask you to come back later. Ms. Schnee is still voicing her opinions on the matter." The aforementioned girl harrumphed and turned her gaze to him.

"You said you disapproved of him earlier. Surely you know I'd be a better leader than that dunce." Artis crossed his arms.

"The only things I know about you is that you're argumentative and entitled." She opened her mouth to defend herself but he continued. "Besides, if I would pick anyone to lead , I'd pick me." The girl scoffed.

"Please, I've been groomed to lead a multi-billion lien multinational business conglomerate by the very best in all of Remnant. I'd go so far as to say that there is no student more qualified to lead a team in this whole academy." It was Artis's turn to scoff now.

"So you were spoiled and are mad that you're not getting your way. I get it now." The girl immediately hopped to her feet.

"How dare you! I am _not_ spoiled!" Artis looked down at Dusty and gave a small laugh.

"Sure you weren't. You grew up sheltered and taught in classrooms. All of your 'training' is theory, not practice." He pointed a thumb to his chest. "I, on the other hand, have more practical training working with actual Huntsman and have been killing Grimm since you were in diapers." Before the argument could continue, Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat.

"If you two wish to fight, then go reserve a time in the Sparring Arena. If not, then please argue somewhere other than my office." Artis snapped his fingers.

"Right." He reached into his pocket and withdrew his broken Scroll, holding it out in his hand. "The Headmaster said that you'd have a replacement?" The woman sighed and nodded, opening her desk drawer and taking out a new one.

"I'd have expected this from the younger students, but not you Mr. Zaffre." A pang of guilt coursed through him. "Be more careful in the future." He nodded.

"I'll do my best, Professor." He powered up the device and entered the proper passwords, soon enough all of his old information was back like it had never left. _Thank the gods I didn't lose all of Ivory's baby pictures! Would really hate to have to try and recreate them or worse, ask Iris to send them to me._

He turned and made his way back out the door only to feel eyes boring into the back of his skull. He turned to spot Weiss glaring daggers at him.

"I wasn't done talking to you!" She marched her way towards him with clenched hands and a sneer vile enough to poison a village's water supply. Artis held up a hand and sighed.

"Look Weiss, I'm not going to have this argument again. You're not the leader, I'm not the leader, Ruby isn't the leader, Jaune is. I'm not super thrilled about it either but if the Headmaster thinks he can do it, then shouldn't we at least give him a chance?" She paused, opening and closing her mouth. He continued.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't be critical but we haven't even really seen what he can do. If he turns out to be an awful leader, then I will personally help you in getting him ousted from the position." After several seconds, she sighed and nodded

"Very well, I'll give him a chance." Artis exhaled.

"Thank you. Now, let's get to our room and sort out who's sleeping where." After a short walk done in relative silence, the trio came to their room. They opened the door to see Jaune and Ruby attempting to cradle a bed overtop of another bed. Weiss's eyes went wide and she looked to the blue haired man. Her look conveyed all emotions. _This is our leader!?_ Artis winced and shrugged. He turned back to the two who had noticed their presence.

"Hey guys! Me and Jaune here are gonna make bunk beds!" The blond nodded.

"Yea, if you guys can think of a way to secure the beds above one another, I'm all ears." Weiss was still awestruck by their idiocy and Artis crossed his arms after closing the door.

"Wait a minute, you guys started this without a plan?" The two set the bed down with a huff.

"First we were gonna try just sitting the ends on top of each other and seeing how that worked." Artis actually heard Weiss's sanity fly out the window, it sounded like a glass bottle shattering into a million pieces. He had to stop this before someone got hurt or, more importantly, something got broken.

"Alright you two, stop right there." The two sat on opposite sides of the bed. "Now, first things first, we need a plan for this. Stacking them on top of one another isn't gonna work." He looked around the room. "If we could hang it above though…" Ruby nodded. He heard Weiss's hand slam into her forehead.

"I have an idea!" Artis rushed over and hefted a side of the bed into the air, Jaune got the other in preparation. Ruby hunted down her bag and extracted several strands of rope. She leapt onto the bed they'd be using as a base and began securing them to the struts in the ceiling. Artis and Jaune soon joined her, wrapping the rope around the each leg from underneath. The finished product looked… unsafe to say the least. Artis spoke.

"It doesn't look super sturdy… Ruby, you take this one since you're the lightest." She squealed in delight and jumped into the contraption. It swayed slightly but after several seconds, the three were confident that it wasn't going to rip the ceiling down. "Weiss, I assume you'll be bunking with Ruby?" Three sets of eyes turned to see the heiress looking at them like they'd sprouted Grimm from their chests.

"ARE YOU INSANE!? There is no way I'm staying underneath that thing for four years!" Ruby gave a groan of disappointment.

"Come on Weiss, give it a chance. Didn't you always want bunk beds as a kid?" She threw her hands in the air.

"No! I wanted a room that had a bed that wouldn't crush me in my sleep!"

"It's not gonna crush you!" She bounced a bit to emphasize her point. The bed wobbled a bit and pieces of plaster fell to the floor but it remained airborne. "See? You'll be fine." Weiss threw her hands in the air and made her way to her bunk, throwing herself into it.

"Fine. If this falls on me though, you mark my words Ruby Rose; there isn't a place on Remnant that you can hide from me." A shiver ran down all of their spines and Ruby nodded. Artis clapped his hands together.

"Great, now what about our beds? You got any more of that rope?" Ruby let her head fall, shaking it.

"No, that was all I had." Jaune brought a hand to his chin.

"Hmmm… Does anyone have anything we could stack in between the beds that would help? Something like a book would be perfect."

"Do any of you have the textbooks?" Jaune and Ruby nodded, Weiss had resigned herself to lying face down on her bed, presumably trying to suffocate herself. Artis nodded. "We use them as a buffer between them. It'll be perfect, like Jaune said." The aforementioned blond replied.

"Don't we need those for class?" Artis shrugged.

"Probably not, you can find PDFs for most of the texts and have it all on your Scroll. Worst case scenario, you can get what you need from the library." With a nod, the two retrieved their books and stacked several on the upwards extending ends. With a grunt, Jaune and Artis both set the bed atop the books. The blue haired man shook the bed a bit and nodded, satisfied with its sturdiness.

"Excellent craftsmanship team." He leapt up and stretched out. Dusty stared at him from below. "Nu-uh, you stay down there." The creature whined. "No, you'd knock it down and break something or crush Jaune. Sleep on the floor like normal dogs do." Dusty huffed and curled up into a ball at the foot of the bottom bunk. The sun had begun to set, orange light spilling in from the window in between the two 'bunk beds.' Artis pulled out his Scroll and began thumbing through his contacts. He paused.

"Oh Jaune, by the way." The boy peeked his head out and looked up at his partner. Artis leaned over. "You're doing my laundry for the whole semester." The boy was about to raise an eyebrow but a scent hitting his nostrils stopped him dead in his tracks. He went red and nodded. Artis gave a small smile. _Good, that solves one problem. And mom said I'd have to learn at some point. Hah!_ Ruby looked at him from across the room.

"Why does Jaune have to do your laundry? Do you not know how?" Artis scoffed.

"Of course I know how to do laundry." _I have no idea how to do laundry_. "But you remember when I said Jaune crashed into me during Initiation?" The girl nodded. "Well, I forgot to mention that he then _threw up_ on me." The boy whimpered beneath him. Ruby burst into laughter. "Yes yes, it's all very funny. I think it's only fair that Jaune pay me back for that." Ruby eventually collected herself, though it did take quite a bit of time. "Moving along, does anyone mind if I call my family? I want to let them know I won't be coming home tomorrow." A pair of yeses and silence from Weiss was all he needed. Going back to his contacts, he tapped the one for his mother and waited.

He hadn't been this excited since Ivory had been born. No, this was different. He was nervous then, unsure of what to do and trying to not panic. His parents had been there to make sure he didn't go catatonic but there was excitement underneath all of the anxiety. Three faces popped into view on his screen. His parents were sat on the couch with Ivory in between. Smiles grew wide across all three and the small pink haired girl in the middle called out.

"Daddy!" Artis immediately felt his lips twist upwards.

"Hi baby girl! It's so good to see you, I missed you." He gave a small laugh as Ivory reached up and grabbed the Scroll from her grandmother, holding it sideways.

"I missed you too Daddy." She paused for a second, the camera now being pointed at the ceiling. "Are you coming home tomorrow?" He felt a crack form in his heart. He knew this was going to be hard, of course it would be. Artis was always there with his little girl, he'd come home from work and spend the rest of the day playing around with her until she went to bed. Now though? He'd be gone for months on end only to come home for a few weeks and then have to do it all again. That would go on for at the very least the rest of the semester and would only worsen as he moved up in years. His eyes began to sting a bit and he sighed. _Maybe I should go home… If it were meant to be, wouldn't I have gotten in before having a kid? Shouldn't I be there for her? Gods, I'm being so selfish._ He mentally slapped himself. _No, you've come too far to quit now, you've sacrificed too much to fall apart in the eleventh hour. You want to go home again and continue to be a failure? Work a dead end job in that restaurant until you're dead? Is that what you want?_

He didn't want that, it wasn't him. Artis had been striving for this goal since he was ten years old, fourteen years of training and dedication would all be for nothing. It might be selfish, it might be stupid, but he wasn't going to quit. He wouldn't be a failure again. Ivory would understand right? After all, she didn't blame Iris when she would go off on missions. This is just like that, a mission, albeit a much safer one that would let him talk to her pretty much every day. His throat tightened and he his gaze found the bed.

"No baby, I won't be." Several seconds of silence passed before Artis looked back up at Ivory. She wasn't smiling but she also wasn't crying. That was a good sign, right?

"Are you going on a mission like Mommy does?" He shook his head.

"Not exactly. You see baby, I'm going to school to do what Mommy does. I'll be gone for a while though... "More silence settled in, he watched her soft brown eyes as she processed everything. She was the spitting image of her mother. The same vibrant pink hair that was far too long. The same deep brown eyes and tanned skin. She even made the same face Iris did when she was thinking. Her eyebrows came together and her lips quivered slightly, almost like she was talking with her mouth closed. He prayed to the gods above that she wouldn't start crying, he might have to leave right then and there if that happened.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" Artis listened for any traces of potential tears in her voice, finding none. The camera shook again and now everything was upside down.

"A few months, but I promise I'll call you every week, no, every day, if I can." Ivory nodded, a smile appearing.

"OK Daddy, you always keep your promises." He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, visibly relaxing. The little girl paused. "Daddy, are you gonna be alone when you're at school?" He shook his head.

"I'm never alone baby girl, I've always got you a Scroll call away. Plus I've got a whole team with me and Dusty's here too."

"Who's on your team? Is it Mommy?" Her smile grew after her question and Artis heard his father's deep baritone.

"Your Mommy's not in school anymore kiddo, she's all done. Your Daddy's got a bunch of new people there with him." The camera moved, presumably Ivory was being relieved of her duties as a cameraman as his parents came back onto screen with his little girl in the middle. "Speaking of the new people, when do we get to meet them? I wanna know the kids watching my son's back." Artis nodded and tapped his screen twice, peering over the edge.

"Say 'Hi' Jaune." The blond boy popped his head out, putting down his own Scroll.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Zaffre."

"Guys, this is Jaune Arc, my partner and our team leader." There was a muffled grunt from the other side of the room. Artis watched as his mother's eyes narrowed.

"You must be very impressive Mr. Arc, to be named leader when there's someone seven years your senior on the team is quite a feat" The boy blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"Mom." He said sharply. She held up her hands in mock surrender. His father's brows furrowed.

"Any chance you're related for Andre Arc?" The boy nodded.

"Yea, that's my dad." The elder Zaffre man nodded.

"Thought so, you look a hell-" His eyes passed to Ivory. "Heck of a lot like him."

"You weren't a Huntsman Pops, how do you know him?" The man shrugged.

"Sometimes the Valeian Army would run missions with Huntsman in dicey areas; he was with my unit once or twice." Artis nodded. The elder Zaffre continued. "How's he doing? Your old man I mean. He still doing the Huntsman thing?" Jaune nodded.

"Yea, but he only takes does the ones that can be done quickly, he likes to be home before dinner if he can be." Another nod. Artis panned the camera over to the still face down Weiss.

"Wake up Weiss, everyone wants to meet you." She rolled onto her side, before sitting up. Before she could even speak, his mother interrupted.

"Artis dear, is that bed suspended from the ceiling… with rope?" _Shit shit shit shit shit shit_.

"Uhh… no?" There was a distinctly male grunt and his mother continued.

"Artis Jameson Zaffre, I'll ask again. Did. You. Suspend. A. Bed. Above. Another." He felt like he was ten again. How did moms always do that? No matter how old he was, she could always make him feel like a kid again when she was mad. He wondered if he would be able to do that same with Ivory when she grew up.

"Yes ma'am." He could feel her frustration from here as she held her head in her hands.

"Why?" He shrugged.

"If I say bunk beds are you gonna get mad?" The sound of knuckles cracking filled the air, giving him his answer as Ivory giggled.

"Daddy's in trouble." He had to find a way out of this. He would NOT be chewed out by his mom in front of his whole team. An idea popped into his head. He let the camera drop to the ground.

"Oh no!" He called out. Artis leapt down from the bunk, his boot landing directly on the screen. "Oh fiddlesticks. I think I broke it, Mom. I think I should go talk to the school about getting it fixed. ByeIgottagotalktoyoualllaterIvoryIloveyoubegoodbyeeeeeee." He held the last word to mask his mother's incoherent screaming. He quickly ended the call and stared at his newly fractured screen. A spider's web of cracks arced across it and the whole top right corner of the screen was gone, the glass having been embedded into his boot. Ruby called out.

"Aww, I wanted to meet Ivory." Artis shoved his second broken Scroll sculpture back into his pocket. This one was dedicated to Ruby. He called it "Consequences of Rope." He sighed.

"Maybe next time." He looked to his other teammates, whose gazes were locked on him. "What?" Weiss scoffed.

"Real leadership material there. You pick that up with all your 'practical training with actual Huntsman?'" She flexed her fingers, a smirk on her face. He felt his cheeks darken. Alright, so his plan wasn't great but he had an amazing comeback lined up.

"Shut up, Weiss." She scoffed again and stood, grabbing her bag.

"I'm going to change and go to bed." She mumbled something to the effect of 'need to regain some sanity.' She headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Artis nodded and began looking around for his own sleeping things. _Oh yea, all gone…_ With a sigh, he kicked off his boots and hopped back up into his bunk. Jaune spoke.

"We should all probably get some sleep. Today's Thursday so we've got a few days before classes start but we should try to get some training in tomorrow." Artis and Ruby nodded. The blue haired man pulled out his Scroll one last time, finding his contacts list. He scrolled down to see his intended target.

Iris.

With a tap, he began to type his message.

 **A: Hey, I just thought you'd want to know, I passed Initiation this time. I know you're probably on a mission or something. Ivory is with my parents.**

Several seconds passed before he got a reply.

 **I: Congratulations.**

Nothing else followed but he knew she was happy for him, at least he hoped she was. _She's probably on a mission and is busy._ He'd known Iris for a long time and they'd been a couple for nearly as long. Those days felt so far away now. He shook his head and let it fall onto the pillow. He gave his new home one final look for the night only to see Jaune walk out of the bathroom in the same blue bunny onesie from the ballroom yesterday.

"Jaune, are you going to wear that every night while you're at Beacon?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What else would I sleep in?" Three groans echoed throughout the room, leading to the light being shut off. "Guys? What's wrong with my onesie?" Another chorus of groans rang out. "Seriously, what's wrong with it?" Artis sighed and laughed to himself.

"Go to bed Jaune." With that, silence engulfed them and sleep came soon after.

 **A/N: Some updates regarding this story. Recently my Beta, as well as my best friend and neighbor, has undergone surgery and is unable to properly look at this story so all of it falls to me. On top of all of that, my sister is leaving for college soon and I'll be starting not long after. I'm removing any set dates for chapters until things stabilize but they should still be about two weeks apart. I'm sorry but I don't want to rush each chapter to meet a deadline. I hope you all understand and I hope that fortune favors you all.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I'm a bit late… sorry? To make up for it, here's the longest chapter I've ever written!**

Being the son a soldier and a Huntress as well as being a father to a young girl, Artis was very accustomed to waking up before the crack of dawn. That did not, however, mean he enjoyed doing so. His eyes cracked open and he was met by a stark white ceiling. For a second, he'd forgotten where he was and wondered if he'd gone and went on an all-night bender to commemorate his most recent failure. It wasn't a night he remembered fondly (or at all.) This time was different though, this wasn't the ceiling of some chick from the bar's room or even his childhood home that his parents still stayed in. No, this was his dorm at Beacon Academy.

Artis hoisted himself up and shifted his body, letting his legs dangle from his precariously raised bed. _Gonna take some getting used to. Don't wanna roll over and break my neck falling off the bed._ With a grunt, he dropped to the floor causing Dusty to awaken. The stone hound yawned and padded over this his master, tail wagging. Artis reached down, giving him a light scratch under his chin. Honey colored eyes scanned the room to find he was the first one awake. He turned to the large window that bisected the room. The curtain was still closed but he peered behind to it see that the sun had barely begun to rise.

Reaching into his pocket, he extracted his fractured Scroll. The clock read six-oh-eight and he sighed before returning it to his pocket. _Of course I'd wake up before seven. Even when Ivory's in another city, I can't sleep in_. One of the other traits his pride and joy had inherited from her mother was the minimum amount of sleep she needed to function, often around five hours a night. Artis was by no means a late sleeper but he did like to get his eight hours in. With Ivory though, it mattered little what he wanted.

Artis figured he'd have a few hours before anyone even thought about waking up so he decided that going for a run would be a decent way to pass the time. As he laced his boots up, he sighed. _Why'd I have to fuck up landing? Life would be significantly easier if I had something to run in other than cargo pants and boots._ He clicked his tongue twice and he and Dusty made their way out of the dormitory. A quick bout of stretching was completed and he was off.

The air was warm but not uncomfortable, at least for people not in thick cotton pants. He didn't exactly have a plan for his route but a quick pass around the middle of campus seemed fair enough. He took in the scenery, not something he'd really had a chance to do in his previous attempts. It was quite striking actually, what with all the towering spires and arch-ways. It looked more like a house of worship rather than a school that taught kids how to kill horrific monsters. Just replace the statue of the Huntsman in the front with an angel and nobody would know the difference.

It'd been so long since he'd been able to take in a peaceful morning that held no responsibilities. It felt like he was a kid again. Like he could go home and load up on sugary cereal, play with his dog in the woods, and then train with mom and dad in the front yard. _Good times…_

More time passed, more places were run by, more birds chirped, and more leaves fell. Artis came to a rest by the fountain, sitting on the ledge. Dusty flopped down at his feet, panting like he'd been running his entire life. He reached down and scratched him behind his ears.

"We've run for longer on accident Dust; don't tell me you're that out of shape?" Dusty rolled onto his back and Artis sighed. Despite him not even really working up a sweat, he was getting thirsty and regretted not bringing a water bottle with him. He then realized where he was sitting. _What're the odds that water's clean…?_ It looked safe enough and after taking a quick look at his surroundings, the coast appeared to be clear.

He reached into the fountain and scooped up a handful, slurping it up. The water was cold, which was odd considering the recent warm weather. With a shrug, he took another handful only to hear a click from behind him. At first, he shrugged it off, probably just a bird doing something in the trees. He took another handful of water and heard the click again.

This time, he looked around, scanning as much of his surroundings as he could. Dusty would've alerted him if he were in danger, not that he conceivably could be considering his was surrounded by Huntsman and Huntresses. Slowly, he took a final handful of water and brought it to his lips. The click went off again and he whirled around, there wasn't a single soul out. Someone was watching him, he was sure of it. Reaching down into the water again, he brought his hand up and just before he could take a drink, he spun and spotted the culprit.

On the other side of the fountain was a girl, a girl with massive rabbit ears and a camera. She gave him a small smile and brought up the camera that hung around her neck, taking his picture. Artis let out a laugh and pushed himself to his feet.

"Rabbit girl! Do you make a habit of taking candids of your peers?" She giggled and nodded, her voice tinged with an accent that he couldn't place.

"Of course, they're much more fun than staged ones." She plopped down on the fountain next to him. "Take a look." She tapped a button on the side, transferring the pictures to her Scroll. From there, she took it out and handing it to him. Artis looked absolutely ridiculous. Being bedraggled and a bit sweaty while also wearing yesterday's clothes that had been dragged through mud, dirt, and Grimm blood, while drinking from a fountain, he looked like a homeless man

Each picture was worse than the last. In the final one, when he'd been suspicious of the rabbit Faunus, the look in his eye gave the impression of a madman. He couldn't help but laugh, simultaneously crushing the thoughts of tossing her Scroll into the water at their side.

"I should go into modeling if this whole Huntsman thing doesn't work out." The two shared a laugh. "Speaking of, we didn't get to talk after Initiation last year, I'm glad to see that you made it." The girl nodded, her eyes finding the ground.

"Thanks…" Her words hung in the air and a breeze passed over them. "I'm sorry you didn't get in last time." Artis shrugged.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for, I made a choice." She started fiddling with her hands.

"You would've been made it if you hadn't stopped to save me." Artis shrugged again.

"Maybe, maybe not. I do know that if I didn't do what I did, you and your partner might not be here. I'm not willing to sacrifice a kid to further my own dreams." He sighed and looked to the sky. "Doesn't matter since I'm here now so, no harm no foul." Her gaze remained fixed on the ground and Artis slipped into his memory of last year.

/-/

Artis had been scouring the forest for hours hunting for a partner. He knew where the relics would be and assumed that they would still be there by the time he found a partner. That had been hours ago and he'd found nothing. Well, not nothing. He and Dusty found, and avoided, plenty of Grimm and were now perilously close to being lost. Not that he'd ever admit it.

Artis heard a rustling and growling coming from beyond the tree line and went to investigate. He spied two kids, each dealing with their respective piles of Grimm. One was an absolute mountain of a man. Decked out in pale greens and browns, carrying a sword that made Artis wonder if the boy was compensating for something. He was being herded by at least a dozen Grimm of varying species. Several beowolves, a pair of boarbatusks, and an Ursa Major. All things considered, he was handling them rather well, carving through the beowolves quickly but immediately having to dodge the Ursa.

Conversely, on the other side of the little makeshift arena was a girl of a much smaller stature. A girl with massive rabbit ears. She held a light blue sword that looked more like a toy but was apparently sharp enough to deal with Grimm. That being said though, she was having a very difficult time with her group. A pack of beowolves, led by an Alpha and a pair of Ursa had cornered her. She slashed out with her weapon, cutting the head from one of the canine creatures.

Drawing out Ivory's Song, Artis dropped to a knee and took a breath. He had to be very careful about this, with how powerful the Song was coupled with how close in proximity the Grimm were to the girl, this was a tough shot. His finger found the trigger and pulled. Thunder clapped and a beowolf was now in two. The Grimm paused momentarily and he let another shot ring out. An Alpha was now headless.

A pair of beowolves turned to him and broke into a dead sprint. Artis called out.

"Dusty, hit!" The stone hound threw himself into the fray, teeth gnashing at the nearest Grimm. Artis pulled the trigger again, feeling the impact in his shoulder as the gun bucked. The round travelled through the eye of the creature and continued into the chest of another, splattering it on a nearby tree. The rabbit girl brought her sword up and slashed the throat of one of the Alphas. Artis dragged his scope across the field and let another shot fly, this time into the head of a boarbatusk. The massive student cleaved the other in half, having dealt with the beowolves.

As the blue haired sniper turned his scope back to the girl, he spied another Alpha coming up from behind her. With her moving around, the shot wouldn't have been a safe one to take so he did the next best thing.

"Behind you!" His words had the intended effect but it was too late. The Alpha reared back and delivered a massive slash, catching the girl right in her back. Artis watched as specks of crimson dotted the air. _She must be out of Aura…_ As she fell, he pulled the trigger again, delivering the round right into the beast's chest. He called out to the other student.

"Get her and get out of here! I'll draw them away." The boy wasted no time, nodding before scooping up the girl and sprinting into the forest. The Grimm turned to their now fleeing prey but the clap of his letting out another shot grabbed their attention. A part of his mind that he doesn't like to hear spoke. _You know, letting them get away decreases your chances of getting in._ He shook his head. It wasn't worth it; he wouldn't sacrifice two students, two children as far as he was concerned, for this. His mind continued.

 _It'd be easy, put a round in the boy's knee and let the Grimm do the rest. Maybe you'll get lucky and they've already got a chess piece you can swipe. It could be yours if you'd aim in the right direction…_ Mentally, he stuffed the voice into a box and lit it on fire. He had bigger problems now, namely the pack of four beowolves, the Alpha, a pair of Ursa, and an Ursa Major.

"Dusty, back!" The hound sprinted to his side and the two broke off in the opposite direction of the boy and girl. He ran as hard as his legs would allow, pounding over fallen trees and trampled grass. Taking a risk, he turned and dropped to a knee, pulling the trigger. Nothing happened. _Fuck._ He hadn't been keeping track of his ammo count. The four Beowolves and the Alpha had pulled ahead and the lead runner leapt at him. It made impact, its claws attempting to rip and tear through his flesh. His Aura was still high, Ivory's Song only taking small bits and having not actually fought anything, he was in relatively good shape.

The beast kept him pinned to the ground and Artis tried to bring his arms up the protect his face and neck but it was no use, he couldn't out muscle the creature with its weight lying across him. A moment later, the weight and the pain were gone. Dusty was now savagely tearing into the creature, giving him a moment of respite. He drew his hunting knife, a half-serrated eight inch blade with a weighted handle and a thickened base where the blade met the guard. A perfect weapon for hacking limbs off.

A second and third beowolf closed in, he dodged to the side as one dove at him and drove the blade right into the eye of the other, pulling it out he slammed it home into its chest. The other popped up onto its hind legs and slashed at him. He slipped under it, turning the knife so the blade faced upwards, thrusting it into the creature's chest cavity. Using as much strength as he could, he slid the knife up, spilling ink colored blood into the forest floor as well as his boots.

Dusty was now attacking the last of the normal Beowolves, his jaws ripping off chunks of Grimm flesh. Artis made a mental note to brush Dusty's teeth as soon as he could. Next came the Alpha. Standing upright, the creature was well over nine feet tall with jaws big enough to crush a grown man's skull with little to no trouble. On top of being bigger, stronger, and tougher than a normal one of its ilk, it was also smarter. The Grimm didn't rush in, clashing slashing and teeth gnashing, no. It stood several feet away, panting and staring. _What the hell is it doing…?_ It was then that he felt the ground shake and roaring in the distance. _It's waiting, that's gotta be it. It's waiting for backup_.

Artis wasn't about to let a monster dictate the battle so he rushed forward, Dusty at his side. The creature swiped high at his head; he dodged, slashing out at the thing's knee. Dusty latched himself onto the other, eliciting a howl of pain from the creature. It reached down, raking its claws against Dusty, pulling him off. As the stone hound rushed back in, going for the same right leg as last time, Artis attacked the left arm. His knife fund flesh, then bone, and then air. A clean cut all the way though. The creature bellowed out again but Dusty tore into the creature's knee again, bones snapping and cracking. Artis jabbed his knife into its chest as many times as he could, silencing it.

The rumbling grew closer, now the Ursa trio was in view and was very unhappy to see the decaying corpses of its comrades. Artis sprinted back and picked up his Song, dropping the clip and slapping in a new one. As he turned, the creatures were much closer than he'd have liked, and let out a rushed shot. Instead of turning the lead Ursa's head into a fine black mist, it turned its front right shoulder into ground beef. The creature fell forward, grinding its face into the dirt. The second shot he got off turned the other leg into more of the same.

He and Dusty fell back before he dropped to a knee once again, pulling the trigger and killing the Ursa. All the remained was an Ursa that was bleeding out and not much of a threat with only two legs and a Major that was supremely pissed. The standard protocol when dealing with a Major was the bleed it out. Out-maneuver it, use hit and run tactics, or just leave it alone if possible. What you were not supposed to do, however, was get in close and trade blows with the creature. That was a quick way to get put in the papers under the 'obituaries' section. It seemed Dusty did now know the protocol.

The mutt rushed in, driving his head into the Major's; this did about as much as expected. The creature was stunned for a split second before swatting Dusty away like a fly. Artis felt his blood boil and took aim with Ivory's Song, stepping closer.

"Nobody hits my dog." He pulled the trigger six times. The first shot cracked the creature's mask. The second gave it a third eye. The third expanded the eye. The fourth took the head clean off. The fifth allowed him to see if Ursa Majors had lungs (they did). The sixth, he checked for a heart (also a yes). He stood over the creature, pulling the trigger over and over even as it clicked empty. He brought his leg back, taking out his rage on the decaying corpse.

"DON'T. TOUCH. MY. FUCKING. DOG. YOU. FUCKING. ASS. HOLE. FUCK. YOU." Each word was punctuated with a stomp. Eventually he stopped, padding over to Dusty who lay on his side, panting. "You alright buddy?" Artis ran his hand across Dusty's head. The stone hound craned his neck out, lapping as his master's fingers with his tongue. Artis gave a smile before climbing to his feet, taking out his knife, and jamming it into the top of the crippled Ursa's neck. He returned to Dusty's side and flopped down next to him, welcoming the silence of the forest.

/-/

"I never got to properly thank you for saving us last year. Thank you." The girl turned to him. "I'm Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina." Artis nodded, holding out a hand.

"Artis Zaffre and don't mention it." Her hand met his and they shook. She pulled her hand back, shifting on the fountain. Her legs swung back and forth in air. "What're you doing up this early anyway? Was it just to take pictures of other students doing weird stuff during morning exercises?" She gave a small laugh, shaking her head.

"No, I like to come out here and get pictures of the sunrise. The main courtyard faces the east and when there's no Bullhead traffic, it makes for some incredible shots." Artis nodded, taking out his Scroll to check the clock. Her heard a laugh from his side and saw the faunus girl staring at him. "How'd you break your Scroll in less than two days at Beacon?" Artis scoffed.

"I'll have you know that this is the _second_ Scroll I've broken in two days." _Why did I feel the need to correct her?_ She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, how did you break _two_ Scrolls in two days?" He shrugged.

"First one was during Initiation, bad landing and all that." She nodded. "This second one… well let's just say I needed an excuse to get off the call with my mom." Velvet snickered.

"Is the big strong Huntsman afraid of his mommy?"

"If you knew her, you'd be afraid too." The two shared a laugh before transitioning into talking about their teams, fighting styles, and families. Artis showed off his pictures of Ivory and Velvet was less than impressed with his photography skills. Soon after, the two departed and the blue haired man made his way back to his room. Opening his door, he expected to find everyone up and moving, ready for their first day as a team. He got a third of his wish.

Weiss was the only person prepared; she stood in her combat skirt, arguing with a very much less ready Ruby.

"Ruby Rose, if you think you can sleep the day when away when we need to train then you've got another thing coming." The girl moaned like a corpse and rolled back onto her side. "Get up this instant!" A heeled foot stomped into the ground. Artis walked into the room and smirked, closing the door.

"Weiss, let me try something." The girl threw up her arms in a huff but stepped to the side. Artis stood right up next to the bed, rocking it slightly.

"Ruuuuubbbbyyy, we can get ice cream for breakfast but you gotta wake up nooooow. She moaned again but replied.

"Cookies and cream?" He chuckled.

"Of course."

"With hot fudge and sprinkles?"

"As much as you want sweetie." The girl immediately shot out of the bed, a flurry of rose petals in her wake. The bathroom door slammed shut and all could hear the furious sound of teeth brushing. A very proud Artis turned to see Weiss staring at him, eyes wide.

"How did you know that would work?" He shrugged.

"I didn't but I figured I'd try the same trick I use on Ivory when she won't wake up and see what happened." Weiss sighed and gestured to Jaune, who was still out cold.

"That trick won't work on tall, blond, and scraggly over there." Artis nodded.

"You're probably right." He stopped and stared at the onesie clad boy, thinking. _I could have Dusty jump on him. Or I could splash cold water on him... No, that's a bit too mean. Hmmmm._ He snapped his fingers. "Weiss, you wake him." She scoffed.

"Why should I wake up _your_ partner?" A cough and the sound of spit hitting the sink echoed from the bathroom.

"Do I even have to say it?" She sighed and marched to his bedside. She placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking gently.

"Jaune, you need to get up." Her tone was firm but not as oppressive as it had been with Ruby. The boy rolled onto his back, a smile on his face. He spoke, though his eyes were closed and his voice was tinged with sleep.

"No Weiss, I don't need breakfast in bed. Come back and cuddle, I'm cold." Artis covered his mouth to keep from cackling like a madman. Weiss turned a very deep shade of red, whether it was from anger or embarrassment, the blue haired man wasn't sure. Her fists clenched and she dragged him to the ground by the front of his blue bunny onesie.

"Get up you dunce!" His eyes shot open and he gave a sharp scream was he fell to the floor. She planted a heeled shoe into his chest. "If you ever have a dream about me like that again, I will hunt you down and skin you." The boy, to his credit, had the good sense to not reply but instead turn the same shade of crimson as Weiss. "Do you understand!?" He nodded profusely and Weiss took her foot off his chest. She turned to Artis. "I'm going to the cafeteria to get us a spot. Make sure they're presentable, I will not be the laughing stock of this school because you dunces don't know how to dress like adults." Artis nodded, still covering his mouth lest he incur her wrath as well. She was gone a second later.

The blue haired man burst out in a fit of laughter that he hadn't thought possible. His hand went out and he steadied himself against a desk. Tears streamed down his cheeks and even Dusty appeared to be smiling. Jaune held his head in his hands, trying to curl up into ball small enough so that he couldn't be seen. Artis's laughter continued for a few more seconds before Ruby walked back out of the bathroom.

"What did I miss?" He waved a hand, still trying to catch his breath.

"I'll" he stifled another laugh. "Tell you about it at breakfast." He turned to Jaune, "Alright lover boy, get up and get dressed. We've got to go get breakfast and then start training." He slipped off his shirt and tossed it into the corner. He noticed Ruby's cheeks darken. "Also Jaune." The boy turned to his partner. "I need to borrow a set of clothes for the day." Jaune nodded, reaching into his bag and extracting a pair of shorts and a shirt. Artis nodded and head into the bathroom.

He returned a minute later.

"I'll be in the hall waiting." The two nodded, Ruby helping Jaune to his feet. Artis opened the door and stepped into the hall, resting against the wall. Ge shuffled a bit, unable to truly be comfortable in someone else's clothes. Dusty's head laid on his knee and he felt a rumble in his stomach. _Hope they move fast, I'm starving._ He thought about the ramifications of just leaving them but he recalled their first day when they couldn't find the room Ozpin gave the opening ceremony in. Which was right in front of them.

After about five minutes, the two joined Artis and they made their way to the cafeteria. As far as cafeterias go, it was immense. Large black chandeliers hung high in the rafters above. A storefront's worth of windows lined the walls allowing light to stream in from the rising sun. The trio grabbed their trays of food and took their place beside Weiss.

Before the group could dig in, they were joined by four more students.

"Yang!" Ruby leapt from her chair and into her sister's arms.

"Morning Rubes." She set the girl down and took the seat beside her. Three more students followed suit. Artis raised an eyebrow at the ginger girl that sat across from him. \

"You're the crazy girl who rode the Nevermore into the ground, Nora right?" The girl looked up at him, half of a pancake hanging from her mouth. She spoke but her words came out in a mess as the pancake flopped onto her tray. The pink eyed boy next to her sighed.

"Yes, that's Nora." She nodded and swallowed.

"You're the guy who shot the tail off that Deathstalker!"

"I didn't shoot it off per se; I weakened it while Ruby cleaned it up." The girl blushed slightly but nodded. Artis looked to the black haired boy. "I'm Artis by the way, I didn't catch your name during Initiation." He reached out with a hand that the boy took.

"Lie Ren, pleased to meet you." The blue haired man turned to the girl with the bow, extending his hand again. Before he could get a word out, a shriek of pain rang out from behind. All eyes turned to see four boys surrounding a girl with large bunny ears. The largest of them, decked out in steel plated armor emblazoned with a bird on the chest, was pulling on them, dragging the girl down. The other three began to cackle like villains from a saturday morning cartoon.

"I told you guys they were real." He laughed and twisted his wrist, eliciting another yelp from the girl.

"Please, stop! That hurts!" They laughed again but let go. She tried to leave but the armor clad boy thrust a hand out, blocking her path.

"We're just messing around, nothing to get upset over." She tried to turn around but was blocked by another boy. Artis turned back to his table, reaching across to take the apple that sat on the girl with the bow's tray.

"You mind if I borrow this?" The girl grunted, her eyes blazing. He snagged it and turned back to the scene. Artis reared back and threw the apple as hard as he could. "Dusty, fetch!" The fruit sailed and the stone hound broke off in a dead sprint. It slammed into the boy's forehead, causing him to turn just in time to see Dusty run him over like a freight train. Artis hopped up from his seat, a mask of fake sorrow on his face as he made his way over. The boy was pushing and shoving at Dusty as he licked bits of apple off of him. The ambient noise of hundreds of conversations came to an abrupt halt.

"Ugh, get off me you stupid mutt!" He brought a fist but Artis called out before it could connect.

"Come on back Dust." The stone hound trotted back over, remnants of apple hanging off

of him. "Sorry about that fellas didn't mean to have you caught in the crossfire." Artis turned to Velvet and then back to him. "Something the matter over here? Seems like you five were having a bit of a discussion and things were getting a bit out of hand." The boy stood up and marched to Artis, jabbing a meaty finger into his chest.

"The only 'discussion' I'm about to have is what my fist is gonna say to your face." Artis looked up at him as the other three boys stood behind their friend, arms crossed and trying to look intimidating. It wasn't very successful.

"Maybe I should, might provide better conversation than the damn fool it's attached to." The boy turned scarlet with anger, cocking back his fist.

"What'd you say to me!?" Artis waved a finger and nodded.

"As I thought." He straightened his back, bringing him to his full height. Even then, the boy was nearly half a foot taller and almost twice as broad. "You're not known for your brains, are you?" The boy swung but it was so telegraphed that Artis wasn't sure if he should tip the delivery boy or not. He slipped the blow and stepped forward, driving a knee into his crotch. Aura could do amazing things and it protected Huntsmen from absurdly dangerous creatures. However, he was still a human male and human males have a weak spot.

The boy dropped to a knee, wheezing like he'd been running since birth. The rest of the boys did nothing but stare as Artis leaned in and whispered.

"If I ever see grab her ears like that again, I'll do a whole lot worse." He didn't get a reply but felt he got his message across. He fell to the floor in a heap. Artis looked to the remaining three. "Go about your business." They helped their friend to his feet and scurried away. The blue haired man turned to Velvet. "You OK?" She nodded.

"I'm alright, thank you." She ran her hand along her ears, massaging them gently. "You didn't have to do that." Artis shrugged.

"Ignoring a bully doesn't make them go away." She said nothing. "Where's your team?"

"Yatsu and Coco are sick I went to get breakfast while Fox got their medicine." He looked over her shoulder to the two trays full of food.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your room?" She shook her head.

"No, thank you though." He nodded and she leaned it to hug. "Thank you for saving me again." His arms closed around her.

"Don't mention it." She stepped back, grabbing the trays and making her way back to her room. Artis walked back to his table, seven pairs of eyes staring at him.

"What?" He brushed the front of his shirt. "Did I get apple on me or something?" Ruby was the first to speak.

"That. Was. Awesome!" She devolved into a series of noises as she described his actions in a rather extravagant matter. He took his seat and smiled.

"I just did what all of us were thinking." The girl with the bow replied.

"Why'd you help her?" Artis raised an eyebrow.

"Do I really need a reason? Isn't protecting people from monsters our job description?" There was a chorus of approved noises from the table. The girl didn't say anything but she did visibly relax, if only slightly. The remainder of breakfast passed without incident, save for a surprisingly heated discussion about cookies and ice cream for breakfast. Everyone seemed to love hearing about Jaune's dream, well, everyone except Jaune that is. Team JARS gathered their things before heading into the training room. Artis elected to leave Ivory's Song in the dorm using the logic that a sniper rifle doesn't help in close quarters combat and the rounds he used were very expensive and shouldn't be wasted in a simple spar. All he brought with him was his trusty knife and Dusty.

The four of them stepped into the rooms and began to stretch. Artis spoke.

"We gonna do partner versus partner?" Weiss and Ruby nodded while Jaune looked pensive at best. He didn't attempt to put a stop to the idea but he had kept noticeably silent. "Alrighty then, I think me and Jaune will go first. Wanna see what our team leader is made of." The boy gave him a nervous smile.

"Are you sure? Isn't it always 'ladies first?'" The man shrugged.

"I guess but I'm full of energy right now. Need to get it out of my system." The boy ran a hand through his hair.

"Why don't you fight Weiss then?" Artis raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I just ate and didn't want to throw up on you… again." A shudder passed through the man but he crushed it down. _Maybe he's got a point… Or maybe this could be a bit of payback. Yea, I like the second idea more._

"I could do that… buuuuuuuuut I'm not gonna. It's me and you Jaune. Mano-e-mano. A couple of manly men doing manly things in a manly manner." He flexed his arms in as many poses as he could think of. A scoff from Weiss and a chuckle from Ruby was the only reply he got. "Are you afraid to fight me Jaune? Is that why you keep trying to get out of this?" The man smirked as Jaune turned red.

"I'm not scared!" _Right, and I'm not a father._ The boy sputtered as he hunted for his next sentence. "I… I just don't want to hurt you is all." Artis mentally rolled his eyes. _I'm as afraid of him hurting me as I am being struck by lightning._

"I'm quaking in my boots." He rattled his knife and wiggled his fingers in 'terror.' The boy drew his sword and brandished his shield. "Weiss, would you mind setting up the Aura readers?" She nodded and turned to the console that sat several feet away. "Ruby, you be ref." The girl nodded excitedly. Several seconds later, three green bars appeared on screen. Ruby waltzed out between the two and held up her hand.

"When I say 'go' then you guys can start. Ready?" She turned to Artis, who nodded, and then to Jaune who did the same. The room was dead silent, save for the beating of their hearts. Artis kept his knees bent and bounced on the balls of his feet. To his right, Dusty stood poised, coal black eyes staring at the boy. He felt good; it had been a while since he sparred someone he didn't have a history with. His shoulders rolled and he squeezed the handle of his knife.

Jaune, however, looked… uncomfortable. Like his armor didn't feel right or that his weapon was too heavy. Artis wasn't an expert sword fighter by any stretch but he knew a couple things. Most of which were common sense. Things like don't stand flat footed and keep your weapon up at all times. Jaune either didn't come from the same school of thought or he was an idiot, Artis wasn't sure. Ruby called out.

"Go!" She leapt back, leaving rose petals in her wake. The blue haired man rushed forward, Dusty in tow. _Gotta get close, he's longer than I am and so is his weapon, not to mention that shield._

"Dusty, hit!" He brought his knife to bear, reversing his grip and swinging high. The weighted ball on the end of the handle mashed into Jaune's temple as the stone hound went low, knocking his legs out from under him. Artis smiled and followed his opponent to the ground. He switched his grip and began to slam the weapon down towards the boy's armored chest. Each strike was blocked by the shield but the residual force was still bleeding out his Aura.

Dusty tore into Jaune's knee, teeth gnashing and claws scraping. Artis reared back for another punishing blow but the boy was ready this time. The shield popped up, catching the man right under his chin. The blond clamored away before rolling to his feet. Artis pushed himself to his feet and spared a glance at the Aura board. Jaune was hovering at a little under eighty percent, the meter still a vibrant green. _What the hell!? How much Aura does this kid have? I know a lot of those were blocked but between me and Dusty, he should at least be in the yellow._

Artis could see that Jaune wasn't doing so well. His already poor form was even worse and he appeared to be about to pass out. _Has he never done conditioning before in his life?_

"You wanna call it?" The boy shook his head, 'correcting' his form. The man shrugged. "Alright then, bring it on." Jaune obliged, charging towards him sword first. Artis sidestepped the stab and swung with his knife only to have it blocked. He pushed in, attempting to angle the shield away. Jaune thrust his sword into his side several times before Dusty bit down on his hand. The blade clattered to the floor and he cried out in pain as Artis brought his free hand up to deliver a few punches to the boy's face. The blue haired man placed his foot on the boy's sword and slid it back, sending the weapon all the way across the stage.

Jaune's guard faltered and Artis took the opportunity, jamming his blade into the boy's gut several more times. The boy swung with the hand not being bitten by a dog, the blow connected but it was a glancing hit at best. Artis drove his knee up into Jaune's midsection before smashing the blade down onto his back. He was about to let himself fall on the boy and continue the onslaught but his voice rang out.

"I give!" Artis nodded and helped him to his feet.

"Dusty, back." Immediately, he released his hand and sat down at his master's feet. He looked over to the Aura board and saw that Jaune was just under half, more than enough to continue. _He fights like he's never trained a day in his life._ "Gave me a nice little work out there Jaune, I appreciate it." Artis flashed him a smile that Jaune didn't return. He went over to retrieve his blade.

Artis stepped to the side, heading towards Weiss and Ruby.

"Your fighting style is… rather ruthless." The white haired girl stated.

"Thanks?" Ruby spoke next.

"Why do you fight like that?" Artis raised an eyebrow. "You fight so…" Her hands fiddled with one another as she hunted for the words. "You fight so mean." Artis shrugged.

"I don't particularly like hand to hand fighting. If it were up to me, I'd be a long ways away with my rifle. I try to end a fight as soon as possible so I can get away and into a better position." Weiss nodded but Ruby frowned.

"Did you really have to keep punching him though?" Again, Artis shrugged.

"He's got a ton of Aura; I needed to do something, right?" The girl let her shoulders sag. Artis placed a hand on one of them. "He's going to be fine Ruby, a little while in an ice bath and a day of rest and he'll be ready to do it all again." This didn't appear to appease the little reaper. "Would it make you feel better if I apologized?" She nodded. "Alright." He turned to see Jaune walking over.

"Hell of a fight Jaune, you did good." _You most certainly did_ _ **not**_ _._ He nodded.

"Thanks, you did well too. My head is pounding right now." Artis laughed.

"Yea, sorry about that. Might've gone a bit overboard at the end."

"Don't worry about it." Artis nodded.

"How about I set up these two so we can kick back and relax?" Jaune nodded, flopping onto the ground next to the console like a sack of potatoes. He tapped a few keys and their Aura meters came into existence. He turned to the two and called out. "Alright ladies, I want a nice, clean match! On my mark, you may begin." He passed a look to both of them and they nodded.

"Go!"

 **A/N: Sorry again for this being as late as it is, time moved much faster than I realized and college is very distracting. It didn't help that I also started another project that won't be coming out for a while. If you liked this chapter, let me know, if you hated it, do the same. If you just want to chew me out for being late then put it in a review or a PM. Either way, thank you for your patience and may fortune favor you all.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, I'm actually on time this chapter. Weird.**

The weekend passed, as they always do, far too quickly. After their sparring session, Team JARS retired to their room to rest, recuperate, and personalize their room. The barren room was now adorned with several different styles. Weiss and Ruby's side of the room was lined with posters of various weapons and armor from magazines as well as actual painted art. It gave their side a certain… flare to it. Conversely, Artis and Jaune did next to nothing, save for moving Jaune's belongings from a bag into the dresser.

Saturday turned out to be shopping day with the team heading into Vale. Artis picked up several sets of clothes, more than he needed and some needing special instructions for washing but it was Jaune's problem, not his. He also made a quick stop to a weapons shop where he grabbed a box of casings, bullets, primer, rims and several packets of dust. It was significantly cheaper to make the specialized rounds he used himself, albeit very time consuming. From there, they devolved into arguing about where to get lunch. Well, Weiss did most of the arguing. The bullhead ride back to the academy was tense as Artis did his damndest to stay as far away from his partner was he could. He was not about to be thrown up on twice in the same week. It was so kind of Weiss to take his place.

Sunday was all about prep work for the coming months. They devised a plan for communication in the field as Artis would not usually be on the ground with them but instead giving them covering fire from above. After fiddling with their Scrolls and talking to the Headmaster, they were given sets of earbuds that would act as microphones and receivers. Team JARS spent the remainder of the day testing out the range limits and just how stable and sensitive they were to movement and sound. Well, the sensitivity was tested inadvertently Artis was caught calling Weiss a 'cold hearted bitch' after she made one of her many comments. Seems the mics were pretty sensitive.

On Monday, the first day of classes began just as expected; with Ruby not waking up on time, Jaune having another dream about Weiss, and Weiss promptly shouting at both of them, already in her own uniform. Artis managed to dodge the initial shouting thanks to his morning runs but even he was not spared her ire as she tore into him for not tempering Jaune's 'indecent' thoughts.

"Weiss, do you think I can beat them out of him or something?" She nodded, pointing at the boy.

"Please do." He sighed and grabbed the uniform that had been delivered yesterday out of the dresser. After slipping it on, the word the kept coming to his mind was 'stuffy.' He wore an undershirt beneath his white button up (the buttons itched against his chest) with a red tie, then a blue vest, that also itched, and on top of all of that there was a black jacket with gold lining. In Vale. At the end of the summer. _Ozpin's trying to kill us. Maybe it's a test itself, like if we can survive the environment or something._

He decided to not button the jacket up, granting himself some semblance of comfort. At least the pants were thin. Artis walked out of the bathroom to see Ruby and Jaune collecting themselves. Weiss stood off to the side, arms crossed. He stepped out of the way and the little reaper replaced him in the bathroom.

"We're going to miss breakfast and be late if those two don't get their acts together." He nodded, taking the seat in front of the desk. Dusty trotted to his side and flopped to the ground, causing most things in the room to shake. An hour later, they had managed to all dress themselves and even have a decent breakfast. Artis spoke as he downed the last of his coffee.

"What class do we have first?" As Team leader, Jaune had been elected as the Schedule Keeper, a title passed down for generations and was an esteemed position. Naturally, Jaune passed the mantle to Weiss after day one when he couldn't be trusted to wake up in time.

"You know, we all have the schedule on our Scrolls, we don't need a "Schedule Keeper" to do all the work." Artis waved a hand at the white haired girl.

"Think of it like a team building thing! We're all learning to rely on one another." _Yeah, that sounded good._ She scoffed but didn't press the issue.

"Our first class is with "Grim Studies" with Professor Port." Jaune slowed his steps, his eyes glancing upwards.

"What do you think we'll be studying exactly?" Weiss's palm smacked into her forehead.

"Obviously we'll be learning how to fight the Grimm you dunce." Jaune shrugged.

"But what exactly does that mean? Is it going to be hunting for weak spots? Tactics? What each Grimm does? Hunting patterns?" Weiss opened her mouth but her reply died on the tip of her tongue. Artis stretched his arms over his head and groaned.

"He brings up a good point. If I had to bet, I'd say it's all of that and then some. His job is to prepare us for what we'll face as Huntsman right?" The reply was a chorus of nods. Coming to the class, they followed Weiss inside and promptly took their places in the front row, Dusty sitting under Artis's feet. At the front of the room was a short rotund man in burgundy suit. Thick gray eyebrows and an even thicker gray mustache took up the majority of his face. Not five minutes later, more students filed in, including Yang and her team, opting for the spots right behind Team JARS. As the remainder of his class settled in, the man spoke, his voice booming throughout the room.

"Monster, demons, prowlers of the night." His arm gestured out to the taxidermied remains of various Grimm around the room. "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names. But I… merely refer to them as prey." Artis let out a sigh. _Something tells me we're not going to learn much about Grimm in this class._ He turned to his left to see Weiss scribbling things down on the paper that was provided to them. Ruby had already laid her head back down and was sleeping. Looking to his right, he saw that Jaune had done much the same. The man continued. "And you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy." He began to march around the room, casting his glances at various students.

It didn't take long for the man to transition from his opening remarks into a story of a 'young and handsome man that saved as many maidens as he slain Grimm.' Artis checked out quickly, instead peering at the board behind him which was full of diagrams of the various Grimm species native to Vale. What really caught his attention was the solid gold bust of Professor Port right beside the board. _There's no way that's real… right? Who had the lien to get that made anyway?_

After nearly forty-five minutes and, amazingly, only a single story, Artis noticed that even Weiss had begun to fall asleep. Her eyes drifted shut only to for her to head shake and have them snap open again. To her left, Ruby was doodling on the paper and giggling to herself. From what Artis could see, Ruby wasn't going to have a career in art any time soon. Weiss didn't seem to appreciate it either as she spoke in a harsh whisper.

"Ruby! What are you doing? Pay attention!" The girl stuck her tongue out at her partner and went back to drawing. Weiss snatched the paper and crumpled it up, tossing it over her shoulder. It seemed that Ruby would not be denied as she began to fiddle with her pencil now. Artis could feel the white haired girl getting angrier and bumped her with his elbow. Her frustration firmly on him now, her voice was filled to the brim with venom. "What!?" Professor Port cleared his throat, his gaze leveled at her. She turned a deep red and began to recede into her seat. A chuckling echoed from behind and Weiss perked up, glaring daggers into the culprit.

"In the end, the beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" He took a bow and waited for applause that never came. After clearing his throat and straightening himself, he continued. "The morale of the story? A true Huntsman must be honorable, a true huntsman must be dependable, a true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise." He let the words hang in the air for a moment. "Now, who among you thinks they're the embodiment of these traits?" There were murmurs to his back and Weiss looked ready to jump up and sing her praises. Before she could though, the sound of heavy boots bounding off of wood drew Port's attention.

"I do." All eyes turned to see a familiar, if not friendly, face standing in the aisle, his chest puffed out and his stance wide. _Of course he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread._ The man nodded.

"Well then Mr. Winchester." His arm beckoned out to the massive metal box on the right side of the room. Glowing red eyes stared back the box began to rustle. "Let's find out. Step forward and face your opponent." The boy slowly made his way down the stairs, making sure to garner as much attention as possible. Artis rolled his eyes and crushed down the urge to stick his foot out to trip the boy. As he crossed their path, Cardin's hand flicked out, catching a sleeping Jaune right in the ear. He popped up, clutching the afflicted area.

"Hey!" Cardin flashed him a smile.

"Sorry buddy, didn't see you there." He reached out with a hand. "Cardin Winchester." Jaune took the hand warily and Artis watched as the larger boy flexed his hand, squeezing as tightly as he could. Jaune, to his credit, didn't cry out in pain but his grimace was enough to show his displeasure.

"Jaune, Jaune Arc." Cardin nodded, looking to Artis, his eyes flashing with hatred.

"Maybe I'll see you around John." Before his blond teammate could reply, the larger boy made his way to the locker room to change. He returned minutes later in his armor, now complete with a massive flanged mace. The blue haired man bumped his elbow into Jaune.

"Someone's insecure." Jaune chuckled as they watched Cardin take fall into his stance. His eyes were locked on the cage and he nodded to Port. The man released a latch on the side and a boarbatusk came roaring out. It rolled directly at the boy and he smiled. Instead of dodging and hitting the sides, as most are trained to do, he brought his mace to bear and met force with force.

The creature was sent hurtling back but wasn't deterred. It began to gather momentum, the floor tiles crying out in anguish. The beast surged forward and this time Cardin dodged to his side. His swung the mace again, sending the creature careening into the wooden desks in the front row. Conveniently where Team JARS was sitting. The four of them all hopped back and Ruby called out.

"What's the big idea!?" He shot her a smile and waved his hand dismissively.

"Sorry, sometimes I don't know my own strength." He brought his bicep to his lips and kissed it, earning a scoff from every person in the room. Well almost everyone, the distinct sound of boys cheering behind him filled Artis's ears. He didn't have to look to know it was Cardin's team mates. The boarbatusk had been stunned by the strike and Cardin eventually took advantage of its state. He ambled over, taking time to make sure all eyes were on him before raising his mace high into the air. The flanges of the weapon began to take on a purple hue and its wielder brought it down with as much force as he could, coupled with the extra weight from the Gravity Dust. The class shook and the sound of bones and flesh being turned into paste permeated the room.

A second later, the clapping of a single person occurred.

"Well done Mr. Winchester, well done indeed." The boy nodded.

"Thank you professor but I think we all knew that was going to happen."

He took a bow and more clapping followed. Artis felt his hands meet but his eyes were rolling. To his right, Jaune had fallen back asleep. On his left, Weiss sat with her arms crossed and Ruby clapped but her heart wasn't in it.

"That's all for today class." As if on cue, the bell rang and everyone began to gather their things and head for the door. "Remember, stay vigilant!" Port headed out a door on the other side of the room. Artis nudged Jaune's shoulder.

"Come on, get up. We've gotta get moving." He mumbled and groaned but did find his feet soon enough. As he got up, Cardin's shoulder met Jaune's chest and the blond boy was sent hurtling to the ground.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry John; guess I didn't see you again." Artis reached over and helped his partner to his feet. _Don't get involved. Don't say anything. It probably really was an accident._ Yea, he'd believe that when he began to sprout wings and flew away to star as a Spruce Willis sidekick.

"Seems like you're awfully clumsy today Cameron. Might want to work on your situational awareness." Artis's mentally punched himself in the face. _You're an idiot._ Pure hatred flashed over Cardin's face.

"It's Cardin." Artis shrugged and looked to Weiss.

"Isn't that what I said?" He turned away before she could reply. "Anyway Carson, we'll see you around." Weiss, Ruby, and Jaune all shuffled out of the aisle and Artis followed suit. He felt a meaty hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe I'm not the only one who needs to be more aware of what he's doing…" The man smiled.

"I'll be sure to work on that Cayden. Have a good one." He shrugged the hand off his shoulder and joined his team. A pair of icy blue eyes met his as they moved towards their next class; History. "What?" The icy blues narrowed.

"Why do you keep goading him?" _Because I'm an idiot._

"I assume you won't accept 'because he's a dick' as a proper answer?" Weiss let out a noise not completely unlike a growl. "Come on Weiss, he deserves it." Her finger prodded into his chest.

"Maybe so but what about if he starts taking it out on myself and Ruby and not just Jaune?" The boy turned to them.

"He isn't taking anything out on me. He knocked me down on accident." Weiss and Artis shared a look before sharing it with Jaune.

"Jaune, you can't tell me you honestly believe that." He shrugged. Under her breath, Artis heard Weiss mumble something about intelligence and donkeys. Frosty blue eyes met his honey colored ones.

"Just stop goading him. Don't make it worse for everyone else or, more importantly, me." He sighed.

"Fine, I won't go out of my way to antagonize him. Happy?" She turned and picked up the pace towards class. "Close enough I guess." The walk to History was as uneventful as the one would expect. The classroom itself was very much the same as the last with rows of desks with paper and pencils lining the tops. In the front of the class however, there stood a very tall and very thin man with thick glasses and messy green hair. He stood with one hand behind his back while the other held a large thermos, presumably full of coffee.

Team JARS took their seats in the front row with Dusty sitting under Artis's feet. Whereas in Port's class the board held pictures and descriptions of various Grimm species, this blackboard was completely covered with a world map that was dotted with newspaper clippings and lines of red thread connecting many of them. It didn't take long for the room to fill up, again with Team RYBN taking the section to their right and Team CRDL taking the one directly to their back them.

"Good morning students and welcome to history, I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. In this class we will cover a great many topics, from the Faunus Right Revolution to the Color Revolution and subsequent fall of Mantle. I hope you're all ready to take notes and discuss things because we're going to begin right now!" The man drew a pointer from a very cluttered desk and began his lecture. Well, calling what he did a lecture would be like calling Crescent Rose a gun; an understatement. The man spoke a mile a minute and taking notes was nearly impossible. He also moved as fast as he talked, making it a distinct challenge just to see where he was going.

After nearly an hour, Artis gave up, instead attempting to just memorize the things that were said. To his left, Weiss was still doing her damndest to take notes but it was plain to see she was struggling. Her normally very neat and elegant handwriting was now reduced to something that would be offended to be called chicken scratch.

"Now, as you all know Humanity was very adamant about centralizing the Faunas population to Menagerie." He tapped the board with the stick and continued to bounce back and forth. _What is in that thermos? There's no way that's normal coffee!_ "While this may feel like ancient history to most of you, I assure you its importance has not waned! In fact, most of the effects can still be felt to this very day." He now stood directly in front of the class, his eyes scanning over everyone. "Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against because of you Faunus heritage?" Silence reigned in the room. Artis turned and saw a multitude of Faunus students, including Velvet. None of them had their hands raised. It made sense, if they spoke out or drew attention to themselves; the target on their backs grew larger.

"The question was quite rhetorical, I know all of you have faced some level of discrimination regardless of your willingness to speak up and I understand. It is dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." He stopped and took a long sip of his coffee. _Must be running low on power. Can't have that now can we?_ "Just look at what happened with the White Fang!" He shook his head and began jettisoning around the room. "Now, which of you young scholars can tell me what is widely considered to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" Weiss's hand shot into the air and she spoke.

"The Battle of Fort Castle." He nodded, tapping his desk with the stick.

"Precisely. And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" No hands were raised and Oobleck began to hunt for a victim. A small smile found his lips and in a flash of green, he stood directly in front of a slumbering Jaune. _Oh no._ The stick smacked into the wood right next the blond's ear. His back stiffened and his eyes widened.

"What!? Huh? Hello?" Oobleck leaned in close, still shouting.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is an excellent, excellent! What, pray tell, is the answer?" Jaune leaned back in his seat, flashing a look to his partner that begged for help. Artis gave a shrug. _This one's on you kid._ The blond looked to Weiss who scoffed and looked away. He didn't even both going to Ruby, who sat in her chair doodling.

"Uhh... the answer… the advantage… the Faunus… had over the guy's stuff… was... " Artis couldn't bear to watch the boy flounder and gave his best attempt at telepathy. _Come on Jaune, what can pretty much all Faunus do? Think man, think!_ His first attempt failed. _NIGHT VISION. IT. IS. NIGHT. VISION._ _Faunus can see in the dark!_ Something must have been lost in translation as Jaune called out very triumphantly.

"Binoculars!" A chorus of laughs erupted and Doctor Oobleck took another long sip from his thermos. Artis felt his palm slam into his forehead and heard Weiss's do the same. _Gods damn it you're an idiot Jaune._

"Very funny Mr. Arc. Perhaps you would be privy to such information had you been awake for it." He sighed as Jaune gave a halfhearted apology. "Mr. Winchester, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject." Artis turned to see the boy leaning back in his chair, his feet kicked up on the desk.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Doctor Oobleck shook his head and Artis spoke before his mind could stop him.

"Oh wow, are you telling me that _the_ Callum Winchester is a racist!? Who knew!?" The sound of a fist meeting wood stomped out the laughs that followed his sentence.

"My. Name. Is. Cardin." A low growl echoed from beneath Artis's desk and he let his hand gently rub the stone hound's head. _Easy big fella._ The blue haired man felt Weiss's elbow in his side but replied.

"That's what I said Cartman." Small snickers of laughter echoed throughout the room and Artis felt daggers bore into his skull. _Maybe Jaune's not the only idiot on this team…_ The clearing of a throat grabbed their attention.

"Mr Zaffre, do you have the answer?" He nodded.

"It's night vision. Most Faunus are capable of seeing in the dark." To his right, the girl with the bow followed up.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured." She paused and Artis watched amber eyes found Cardin. "Perhaps if you paid more attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." The smirk on her face could've spanned continents it was so large. The butt of her joke didn't seem to find it nearly as funny as Artis, who could barely contain his laughter. Cardin hopped from his seat, fists clenched. A sigh sounded from the front of the class.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." To Artis's right, Jaune cackled like a madman and Doctor Oobleck was inches away in a second. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." Jaune visually deflated and the bell rang.

"Jaune, I'll wait for you in the hall. Weiss, you and Ruby go on ahead." They nodded and the blue haired man made his way to the wall where he and Dusty took a seat. Through the door, they watched as Doctor Oobleck spoke to both boys, giving them each slips of paper presumably with their extra reading material on it. A second later, a green flash shot through the door followed by Jaune and then Cardin. As the blond got through the door, his lurched forward, falling to the floor. Artis stepped to his feet as Cardin stepped over the boy.

"I see you haven't gotten over that clumsiness Carmen." Dusty began to growl, a low sound much like stone being grinded together. Probably because that's exactly what it was. Artis helped Jaune to his feet and continued. "You should fix it soon, you might get hurt otherwise." The boy scoffed and swaggered down the hall, dumping the scrap of paper on the floor. "You OK?" He grunted and shrugged. "How much extra work did you get?" He pulled out the paper and sighed.

"Another fifty pages and a two page paper." Artis whistled.

"That sucks. He say anything else?" Jaune was silent for a beat before opening his mouth, closing it, and shaking his head. The man nodded, not believing him but accepting that it wasn't his business. He clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, only one more class to go and then we're done for the day." Together, they headed towards Combat Practice with Professor Goodwitch.

The class wasn't much of a classroom at all. It was essentially a training room with desks instead of extra arenas. Artis and Jaune took their seats next to Weiss and Ruby as a woman stepped out to the front of the room. She was tall, easily rivalling Doctor Oobleck, with pale blonde hair tied up in a tight bun. She wore a scowl but it didn't appear like it was done out of malice, more like that was just her natural facial demeanor. In one hand, she held a tablet. With a few strokes, a video began to play on the screen above her head.

It showed two students locked in a duel, one wielding a thick cane and the other a sturdy large white revolver. The fight played out for several seconds until the individual with the cane dashed forward, smashing the weapon down his opponent's hand and then jabbing at the throat. With the revolver user off balance and gasping for air, the cane used removed the gun from his opponent's hand with another smack and the video paused.

"That, students, is what we will be doing in this class. While a Huntsman's main job is the fight the forces of Grimm, sometimes you will be called upon to fight other things. Whether they are rogue Huntsman or criminals with Aura, you need to know how to deal with them. I imagine all of you have at least a rudimentary ability to do this but we will hone it here. There are no lectures and no essays." Murmurs of satisfaction were heard behind him. "However, there will be homework every day; training." Then came the groans which surprised Artis a bit. _Shouldn't we be training every day anyway? Or at least most days?_ "With that being said, we shall commence with the first bout of the semester."

Her finger danced over the tablet again and the video behind descended into two windows that rotated over various student's faces. After a few seconds, the window on the left stopped.

"The first combatant will be Cardin Winchester of Team CRDL." The aforementioned boy popped to his feet, a smirk on his face. A bit later, the other window stopped and Artis felt his heart drop. "His opponent shall be Jaune Arc of Team JARS." At the mention of their team name, a small contingent of laughter echoed from behind him. _That's not good._ The man turned to see Jaune go very pale. He stood but his knees were shaking and sweat poured down his face. He began to open his mouth but the Professor didn't notice or didn't care. "Gentlemen, go get changed and retrieve your weapons." They nodded, one much more enthusiastically than the other, as they walked to the locker room. Walked was a relative term in Jaune's case as he more shambled like he was heading to his own execution. It might not be entirely wrong. "Sometime today Mr. Arc. There are more matches to be had after your own." The boy turned.

"Maybe they should go first then Professor." Her eyes narrowed and she adjusted the glasses that hung on her face.

"Go get ready Mr. Arc. If you continue to dilly dally then it will begin to reflect in your grade." He opened his mouth to reply but another look from Goodwitch caused him to hustle. Artis deflated in his seat, looking to Weiss and Ruby.

"He's going to die, isn't he?" Weiss remained silent and Ruby fiddled with her fingers.

"Maybe he's gotten better?" Honey yellow and icy blue eyes stared into the girl.

"Ruby, how could he have gotten better in the two days since his last spar?" She shrugged, her cheeks now dusted with color.

"You never know. Maybe he studied everything. Or maybe he was holding back?" _Sure, let's go with that. Whatever you have to tell yourself to get to sleep Ruby._ Artis shrugged.

"Maybe you're right. We'll just have to wait and see." Five minutes later, both boys walked out in full battle regalia. Cardin hefted his mace around, trading the purple Dust crystal from earlier for a bright red one. He didn't walk into the arena, he strutted. Cardin knew he was going to win. He had no idea how Jaune fought or even what weapon he used. He wasn't cautiously confident in his skills; he wasn't silent in preparation for his fight no. Cardin treated this like a parade dedicated to him. The worst part was, he was probably right. This would more than likely be the easiest fight the boy would ever have.

Whereas Cardin was all confidence and ego, Jaune looked like he wanted to curl up inside his hoodie and hide for the rest of his life. The boy slowly made his way onto the stage and Professor Goodwitch spoke.

"Gentlemen, you will fight until you concede or your Aura reaches red." The windows above their heads now held Aura meters directly under their portraits. "You will obey all of my instructions." The two boys nodded and fell into their stances. The woman took a step back and tapped the tablet again. Light dimmed everywhere but the main stage. _Come on Jaune, you've got this. Show me why they let you come to Beacon._ "Begin!"

Jaune charged forward in a dead sprint, bellowing with fury or fear. It was hard to tell which. His right hand came up and he swung with a big overhand slash. Cardin stepped under the blow and used his left hand to bring the mace around. Luckily for the blond, he got the shield up in time to block the blow, even if it didn't do all that much. He was sent tumbling away on the other side of the arena. Cardin rested on his mace and mimed a yawn.

Jaune corrected himself and made another charge. He kept his shield in front of him and slashed out. Cardin blocked it and drove a knee up into the blond's midsection. It lifted him off the ground and the larger boy wrapped him up in a headlock as he dropped his mace. He struggled but Cardin had more leverage and strength. In a quick motion, the boy dropped to the ground, driving Jaune's skull right into the floor. The crowd behind Artis went wild and the blue haired man could only wince. Ruby was now watching through her hands and, if he wasn't mistaken, even Weiss was giving him a pitying look.

Cardin stood and retrieved his weapon, taking several steps back.

"Get up John. I'm not done with you yet." Jaune rolled onto his back and attempted to right himself but he wobbled and fell to a knee. Cardin rushed over and swung his mace right at the blond's face. The flange connected with his cheek and he was sent hurtling to the other side of the arena again. The joy Cardin was getting out of this was palpable, as was the moment he looked up and saw that all of that had only taken a small chunk of Jaune's Aura. Quickly, the smile was wiped away and replaced with a sneer.

He stalked over to Jaune and began to pound on his back with the mace like he was tenderizing a steak. Jaune attempted to stand and each time he was put back into the ground. Artis looked to his left and saw that Ruby had gripped onto Weiss's hand. She didn't make an attempt to pull away.

"He's OK, right?" Weiss looked up at the Aura meters.

"He's fine Ruby, look. His Aura is only now going into the yellow." Her voice was strong but the words didn't mean much when Jaune kept being smashed. _Come on Goodwitch, call the damn fight! It's over, fuck what the meter says._ Artis felt one hand squeeze the desk and the other begin to rub Dusty's flank. _Do something Jaune, please._ As if he heard his thoughts, Jaune rolled to the side, dodging the falling blow. He pushed himself to his feet and fell into his stance again. Cardin reared back for another strike and Artis braced himself for the impact. It never came. The blond slipped into Cardin's space and stabbed into the larger boy's thigh. A not so insignificant chunk was gone from his Aura. _Seems he doesn't have the defense to compliment the offense._

Ruby called out.

"Go get em Jaune! Kick his butt!" Weiss nodded in agreement. Cardin growled and shoved the blond back. He charged forward again, bringing his sword high and let loose a war cry. It looked good, his grip was firm, his stance wasn't as awful as before, swung from his hips and not with just his arm. All in all, it was pretty damn good.

It just didn't matter.

Cardin saw it coming from a mile away, everyone did. The larger boy sidestepped the strike and delivered a powerful two handed swing right to Jaune's midsection, effectively eliminating all oxygen from his lungs. He collapsed in a heap and Cardin prepared to turn Jaune into mush but at the high point of his swing, an alarm blared.

"That's enough Mr. Winchester." The lights came on and Professor Goodwitch stepped forward. Artis let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has dropped into the red. As you know, in a tournament this would indicate that Mr. Arc is no longer fit for battle and the official would call the match. It means the same thing here." She turned to Jaune and sighed. "Mr. Arc, please keep track of your Aura in the future. It will let you know when it would be wise to attack or go into a more… defensive fighting style."

Cardin mumbled something to himself and made his way back to the locker room. Artis shot as harsh a glare as he could at the boy. _I really hope I get to fight him soon._ Jaune had yet to stand so the rest of Team JARS came to his side. Artis pulled him to his feet.

"You OK?" He nodded.

"I'm alright, I swear." His knee buckled and he was caught by Artis and Weiss.

"Come on killer, we're getting you to the Nurse." Artis turned to the Professor. "We're going to get him checked out alright?" She nodded and went back to calling out the next contenders. At first Jaune protested to being half carried but a look from Weiss changed his tune. The white haired girl looked over to Artis who held Jaune's other arm.

"When I said 'Don't make it worse for everyone else' this is what I meant." Artis opened his mouth to defend himself but one look at Jaune's dented chest plate quieted him. _Is she right? Would this have happened if I just left it alone?_ Silence reigned as they walked through the halls.

 **I hope you all enjoyed that, I know I did. As always, leave a review and let me know how I can improve or just tell how you felt about me turning Jaune into a punching bag two chapters in a row. Either or. My fortune favor you all.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm back! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Time tended to pass very quickly when one fell into a rhythm. That's what was happening with Team JARS. The schedule never changed in any significant manner. Sure, there were days when Jaune woke up on time and there were times when they all _didn't_ sleep through Port's "lectures." There were days when Oobleck spoke at a normal pace and when Goodwitch wasn't borderline cruel but those were outliers and very much not the norm. School became a routine. That wasn't to say nothing happened though. In fact, there was a day where they got to go into a Grimm infested forest known for its impeccable beauty and _collect sap._ It was riveting. Also, on a weekly basis they could enjoy the time honored tradition of seeing their team leader be beaten to a pulp in the sparring arena.

First it was Cardin, whom Artis was still having his psychological war with, who turned his partner into paste with his mace. Then it was Yang who used him like a punching bag. Nora, who mashed him into pulp with his hammer. Russell had carved him up like Christmas dinner. Blake ran circles around him all while looking bored of the whole affair. Weiss poked many holes into her team leader and left him encased in Ice Dust on more than one occasion. Ruby, to her credit, did her best to go easy on the blond boy but there was only so fine a line between "going easy" and throwing the match. Ren at least did him the honor of ending the fights quickly. Artis would love to say he gave his partner a few wins here and there but he couldn't because he didn't. After weeks of sparring, Jaune had yet to net a single win; his record was an astounding 0-24.

Professor Goodwitch either hated Jaune with a passion or thought he would learn by getting his ass handed to him. Either option led to the same ending. It wasn't like his team didn't try to help him, they would all give him as much advice as they could and offered to train with him but he turned them down time and time again. It was clear he wanted to do this on his own, whatever "this" was. Maybe he enjoyed being hurt…

The team's studies were going well at least, Weiss gave it her all to drag her team to the top of the class rankings with herself but she met… resistance. Resistance in the form of laziness and apathy. Ruby tried but it seemed her infinite energy supply became tapped out when it came to school work. Jaune was semi-receptive to her teaching method which involved a lot of yelling and some hitting. He was actually in the upper tier of the school putting him in second place on the team. Artis… well he wasn't a great student back in Combat School and seven years out of the environment had done little to help that in any respect. Still, there was enough busywork and training to be done that it kept Artis from being able to see Ivory, which only changed this weekend, a scant weeks away from the Vytal Festival.

"Hi baby girl! How's my favorite little angel tonight?" The pink haired girl giggled, a massive smile on her face.

"Daddy!" The camera shifted and suddenly he was looking at the ceiling again. "I miss you." A spear of guilt thrusted through Artis's chest.

"I know baby, I miss you too. Hand the camera back to you grandma so I can see you." Without a word, his mother came into view at Ivory's side.

"Hi Baby! It's so good to see you."

"Nice to see you too Mom, thanks again for watching her." He shifted his eyes to the pink haired girl. "Have you been good for grandma and grandpa?" She giggled and nodded.

"Yes Daddy, I've been the bestest girl." His eyes flashed to his mother who nodded.

"Good, keep it up and maybe we'll get ice cream tomorrow." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ruby perk up a bit at the mention of the frozen treat.

"You promise?" He nodded.

"Of course baby girl, you keep being good and we'll get all the ice cream and cookies you could eat." Her smile managed to grow and his mother frowned.

"Not too much though, wouldn't want you to turn into a chubby bunny now would we?" She tickled the little girl's neck, eliciting another giggle.

"Is Mommy coming with us tomorrow?" Artis let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Not this time precious, maybe next time." The girl visibly deflated, her head falling onto his mother's side. _Nice job asshole, you made her sad._ He could fix this, sort of. "Mommy's not gonna be there but you get to meet Ms. Ruby, Ms. Weiss, and Mr. Jaune tomorrow. Isn't that exciting?" He added as much enthusiasm as he could. She shrugged.

"I guess… Where is Mommy?" His head drooped and another sigh fell from his lips.

"She's at work baby; Mommy's gotta work so she can get you all those Christmas presents you want." The girl's lip quivered.

"I don't want presents! I want Mommy to come home." Tears began to slide down her cheeks and Artis felt his heart break. _Dammit Iris, would it kill you to answer your Scroll once in a while?_ His ex-girlfriend had never been good at returning calls, especially when she was in the field. It wasn't like he didn't understand but it got frustrating to keep telling Ivory that 'Mommy's busy, she'll call back soon.' Only to have that be a lie.

"She'll be home soon sweetie, I promise." Leave it to Mom to bail him out. She always kept her promises, at least where Ivory is concerned. The little girl looked up, sniffling. 

"Really?" She nodded.

"Of course, she'll be back before you know it." She peered off-screen as Ivory wiped away her tears. "It's getting late little lady, how about I put you down for bed? You're gonna need all your strength if you wanna keep up with your daddy tomorrow." With a nod, the little girl turned back to Artis.

"Night night Daddy." The blue haired man smiled.

"Sleep tight Princess, I'll be over bright and early to come get you. I love you." She smiled and blew a kiss at the screen which Artis pantomimed catching and stuffing into his pocket. "Thanks again Mom, I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it baby, I love you." He nodded

"Love you too." His let the Scroll drop from his hands to the bed as the call ended and fell face first into his pillow. From below he heard.

"Where exactly is Iris?" He turned to see a mop of blond hair peeking up. Artis sighed and shrugged.

"No idea. I tried calling her but most of the time she didn't answer and when she did, she didn't say where she was. I ended up asking a rep at the Huntsman Association but all I was told is she's investigating the White Fang. No location and no time table for her return." Across the room, Ruby chirped.

"Why doesn't she tell you?" With a huff, he sat up in his bunk and ran a hand through his buzzed hair.

"Have any of you ever been in a relationship, especially a long term one?" He was met with silence. "Don't know why I'd have thought otherwise, you're all young. Anyway, myself and Iris were together for years, from when we just graduated from Combat School seventeen to when she just turned twenty-one, a few months after Ivory was born. She had graduated near the top of her class at Beacon and given birth to Ivory in the same year, it was nothing short of incredible. Me? I was working full time in the kitchen at some diner in Vale and training on the side. I was bitter, I was tired, and I was stressed. Taking care of Ivory when she was still a newborn while working was the hardest thing I've ever done. In that time, a lot of the stress turned to anger and I'm not great at..."

He rolled his hands, trying to spurt the thought out of his mind. "I guess dealing is the right word. I'm not good at dealing with my anger." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair again. "I need it to be understood, I love Ivory more than anything in the world and nothing is ever going to change that. However, raising a child is probably the most stress inducing thing I can think of. If she wasn't hungry, she was tired, if not that then she pissed herself or any number of things that babies do that makes them cry." Sometimes, Artis swore he could still hear the crying and he'd get out of bed only to stop himself before walking out the dorm. "I was younger, dumber, and worse at dealing with my issues." Another resigned sigh left his lips. "So I took everything out on Iris. Every time she'd come home, we'd fight. I think she took the longer jobs just to get away from me. Can't say that I blame her." His eyes fell to his bed sheets as he slipped into the familiar embrace of his memories

Iris would leave for a week or two and come home to their apartment on the west end, sore and with new scars, he'd come home smelling like overcooked chicken and grease with a migraine. Couple those with a screaming child and things were bound to explode. He'd make a comment, she'd reply. They'd share a look that begged the other to take care of Ivory; neither would break so she kept crying. The comments grew into insults which grew into plate throwing which led to more crying, not just from Ivory this time. One day, Iris had had enough, she grabbed the bag she always had ready for missions and left. After a day, he called her and she said she wasn't coming back. He said that was good, he didn't need her. It didn't take long for Artis to realize he was wrong. On his meager earnings, he wouldn't be able to afford rent so he packed up as much as he could, snatched up Ivory, and headed back his parent's place.

In the following year or so he and Iris spoke a grand total of three times, one of which being Ivory's birthday. The party didn't go well but at least they didn't throw things at one another or sling insults. Just a lot of dirty looks and drinking. The second meet up happened a few weeks after the first. With cooler, more sober, heads they decided this was what was best for Ivory as well as themselves. The third meeting would set the tone for every meeting after it, polite smiles, civilized conversations, and even a hug or two. Two years later, which brought them to present day, they spoke but not often, the two acted like acquaintances and would meet up and play nice when they needed to. Still, it was awkward for everyone around them. There was a tension in the air that never went unnoticed but Artis and Iris could at least pretend it didn't exist. That's what he told himself anyway. The bed sheets shifted from his past to their normal white cotton selves and he looked up at his team.

"We're not nearly as close as we used to be and I doubt that will change anytime soon. I just have to do my best raising Ivory and Iris can come around when she can." Weiss spoke.

"Why exactly did you tell us this?" Artis was silent for what felt like forever but eventually, he shrugged.

"Not entirely sure, but I think I just needed to tell someone really. A kid doesn't leave a lot of room for me to make friends and after I failed to get into Beacon all those times I didn't really have any to fall back on. Think of it like a lesson from a wise old man about not letting your failures ruin the things around you. Either way, we should get to bed soon." He laid down in his bed, closing his eyes before anyone could keep up the conversation. That night he dreamt of better days, when things weren't so lonely and he wasn't so angry.

The dawn came quickly and with it, light poured in from the large window that bisected their room. Artis had been up for two hours already. He couldn't help himself, he was positively vibrating with energy. He'd already gone on his morning run and double checked everything he'd need for the day. A wallet full of lien, proper walking shoes instead of combat boots, a backpack stuffed with snacks, and fully stretched shoulders. Carrying a four year old around took a surprising toll, even with Aura. The same could not be said for his teammates, probably because they, along with every other member of Beacon Academy and probably the rest of Remnant, were asleep.

It would be another hour before Weiss stirred and Artis dared not speak to her before she got her morning shower. Another hour passed before Ruby joined them in the waking world and Jaune came shortly after of his own accord, Artis was so proud. The four of them grabbed a quick breakfast and made their way to the transport station. He shot a quick text to his mom to let them know they were on their way. As they all took their seats in the Bullhead, which were as far away from Jaune was humanly possible, Artis spoke.

"I really appreciate you guys all coming with me. I figured since you guys were all going to be such a big part of my life, I should at least let you meet my daughter. As thanks, lunch is on me."

"Does that count for ice cream too? I kinda spent all my allowance…" Weiss's hand met her forehead.

"Maybe if you didn't spend all of it on weapon mods and cookies then you'd still have some left." Ruby's reply was drowned out by the sound of the engines revving up and Jaune retching. _At least he's over there, far away from me._ As if the blond boy heard his thoughts and decided to challenge his assertion, the contents of his breakfast spewed from his jaws and in Artis's direction. He dodged as much as he could and even managed to avoid most of it. The same could not be said for the pilot's chair. _That smell is never going to entirely come out. Poor bastard._ He looked up to see his partner apologizing profusely in between dry heaves. _Gods dammit Jaune._

The rest of the trip passed without bodily fluids being passed from one to another thankfully and soon they were in the city of Vale. As they passed through the main entryway, they spied several signs advertising the upcoming Vytal Festival. Artis slowed his steps as he read the flyer.

"Are we competing in that this year?" Ruby nodded, stopping to stare at the piece of paper.

"We should, Yang and her team are. I hear a bunch of first year teams are entering." Weiss nodded.

"I assumed we were and put our team down for it, should I have not done that?" Artis saw Jaune stiffen and slow to a crawl.

"Are we sure that's a good idea? I mean, we're just first years and I'm not exactly… good at fighting." Artis threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, we've got enough firepower to make up for it, plus you'll be our tank, soaking up damage like a sponge." Jaune gave a small laugh but it sounded pretty forced.

"I just don't want to let you guys down." Ruby shook her head.

"You won't! You'll do fine Jaune. We'll go in, kick some upperclassman butt and take home first prize this year. Then we'll do it again next year, and the year after that and the year after _that_." The blond boy straightened up.

"Yea, maybe you're right. Let's do it, let's sign up for the Vytal Festival!" He put a fist in the air and Ruby joined him.

"That's the spirit!" The two looked to Artis and Weiss. The white haired girl grabbed their hands and dragged them down.

"Yes, yes we're all very excited about competing in the tournament now don't go and embarrass us in public you dolts." Artis didn't spot any weird stares at the group but to say Weiss was a bit paranoid about her image would be a colossal understatement.

They continued further into the city and came upon a recently robbed Dust shop, recent enough that cops were still there collecting evidence. The windows were smashed in and it looked like all of the shelving was turned upside down and thrown all around. Artis made a mental note to avoid this part of town with Ivory.

"Damn shame, I think that's the fourth shop hit in the last two weeks." Weiss harrumphed.

"Probably those good for nothing White Fang degenerates."

"Not a fan Snow Angel?" Weiss elbowed the blond boy in his side before re-crossing her arms

"No one should be, they're a bunch of sadistic terrorists. And don't you _dare_ call me that again." Artis shrugged as Dusty took a seat by his master's feet.

"Come on, nothing we can do now. Let's go get Ivory and get this day started." Another ten minutes of walking and they came to an old brownstone at the edge of the city. A short hop up the stairs and Artis rapped his knuckles on the door. A second later it opened and he was smothered by a child in a bright blue dress. Her bubblegum pink hair was kept in twin tails that flowed behind her as she sprinted like ribbons on a bike.

"DADDY!" Her arms enclosed around his waist (as much as a four year old could at least.) He pried her off before scooping her up in his arms. She promptly buried her face in the crook of his neck. Artis squeezed her as tightly as he dared.

"Hi Sweetie! Oh I missed you so much!" He delivered a sloppy wet kiss to her cheek which caused her to giggle. For a moment, nothing else mattered. There were no Grimm, no terrorists, no Vytal Festival, nothing but Artis and his little girl. All was right with the world, even if just for a little while.

Thirty seconds and one equally strong hug to a certain stone dog later; two more people appeared in the doorway. The first was a woman with curly blue hair and a bright smile. As Artis set Ivory down, the woman took her place.

"How's my sweet little Artie today?" The blue haired man became a few shades more red.

"Mom please, not in public and definitely not in front of my team." He heard snickers behind him and turned, shooting a quick glare at them. "To answer your question, I'm doing fine, better now. I got all settled in and kinda fell into a rhythm. Sorry I don't call as much as I should." She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it Artie, I know you're too busy to talk to your poor old parents." There was a scoff behind her.

"Speak for yourself woman! I'm in my prime over here!" His father popped into frame, flexing his arms in as many ways as he could think of. Artis gave a short laugh before extending a hand.

"How ya doing Pops? Still bald I see." The older man chuckled and took his son's hand before pointing to his head.

"Not far behind me I see." He let out a hearty laugh, clapping his son on the shoulder. "It's nice to see ya kid." Artis nodded.

"You too." A beat of comfortable silence passed.

"Would you all like to come in for a bit? Get a few drinks for the road?" Artis turned to his team who seemed a bit apprehensive, something his mother picked up on. "I've got baby pictures of Artis and Ivory~" She sung the last line and this seemed to sway them as they all began to stride towards the door. _Traitors! Traitors every single one of you!_

He stuck an arm out, blocking the doorway.

"We'd love to stay mom but we've got a schedule to keep. Busy busy busy!" With that, he scooped Ivory up, placing her on his shoulders, and walked down the steps as fast as he could. "Come one guys, a day of fun awaits!" The teens shrugged and said their goodbyes. The little girl giggled and grabbed onto her father's ears.

"Where are we going first daddy?" Her tiny hands pulled and Artis winced as she drove him off course. He pried her appendages from his ears and turned back to his team.

"How's the park sound?" After hearing the little girl's cheer and seeing three teenage shrugs, he gathered that his decision was a good one. Shifting back to the sidewalk so they wouldn't be turned into broken JARS, they made their way back into the city. The local park was certainly bustling as one would expect on a Saturday. After a few hours of pushing Ivory on the swing, chasing her around the field, eating a light lunch, and getting stuck in the corkscrew slide (something his team would never let him forget about), it was time to grab some dinner.

After a small group discussion, which basically boiled down to Weiss vetoing everyone else's picks for a destination, they decided on a local place called Luna's. It wasn't a particularly large establishment but it was classy. It was as clean as a city diner is expected to be which was far less than Weiss's own but at least she didn't say anything about it. The hostess showed them to their table and they nestled into their seats with Ivory sitting between Artis and Jaune while Weiss and Ruby sat across. The pink haired girl piped up.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." She dragged out as many syllables as her little mind would allow. Artis reached over, wrapping an arm around her. The sun was beginning to fall behind the trees on what had been a relatively cool November day, casting the city in a pale orange glow. Artis was thankful for his current position and not just because it used his partner as a shield against the sun. He knew he would miss Ivory while he was away, it was a given, but you're never really prepared to leave the people you love, no matter how much you think you are.

"That's why we're here baby; do you know what you want to eat?" She picked up the menu, his little eyes darting all around. A tiny finger pointed to a picture of macaroni and cheese.

"That one! I want that one!" Artis nodded.

"An excellent choice." He punctuated it with a kiss to the top of her head. His eyes glanced up to the rest of his team. "You guys know what you want? Dinner's on me." Eyes scanned laminated paper and nods were given. Soon enough, a man walked over and they gave their orders to him. A short while later, their food arrived and they began to dig in.

Not six bites into his artery clogging cheeseburger, Artis heard the telltale sign of the someone entering the restaurant. It wasn't something he normally paid attention to but something drew his attention to the door; a set of dull gray armor emblazoned with a large bird crest. _Cardin… Of course you'd be here you sack of shit._

Artis set his food down and took a sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving the large boy. Their eyes met and the air started to brim with scorn and hatred. The boy stopped moving, causing one of his teammates to bump into him. The aforementioned boy, Russell if Artis recalled correctly, looked to his leader for an explanation only to follow his gaze to the blue haired man.

Artis set his drink down and crossed his arms, never breaking eye contact. As fate would have it, Team CRDL was sat just to the right of Team JARS. At seeing the boys, Jaune shrunk down in his spot a bit, Weiss made a point of staring out the window and Ruby became very engrossed in her food. A poke on his left arm drew Artis's attention.

"What's wrong Daddy? You look mad." He heard snickers to his right and clenched a fist. He felt Ivory's eyes drift to it and let his hand go limp.

"I'm fine baby girl, don't you worry." He flashed her as fake a smile as he'd ever done but he prayed she wasn't old enough to pick up on it. More giggles echoed to his right and a bit of balled up napkin fired from a straw collided with his cheek.

"What's wrong 'daddy'? Gettin a bit hot under the collar at seeing some friends from school?" This voice was one he didn't quite recognize, definitely one of Cardin's sheep. His heart began to speed up and he began to feel restless. _Don't throttle them. Not in front of Ivory at least. Just think about her and you'll be fine._ _Ignore them._

In an effort to calm himself, he reached down for his burger and brought it to his mouth. An ice cube struck him in the cheek. His hands flexed and all of the condiments became squeezed onto his plate. _Not now. Be better in front of Ivory. Show her that turning the other cheek works. Set a good example._ A scoff across from Artis drew his attention.

"Really Cardin? You can't even control your own team and stop them from being children in public? Shall I call a babysitter so you won't be a nuisance?" Artis inclined his head to the girl. _Leave it to Weiss to pick up the slack for me._ The boys only reinforced her point by tossing another ice cube, this time at her.

"Shut it, Ice Bitch. No one was talking to you." It was the blond boy whose hair covered his eyes, Dove. _Can't we just have one nice day without starting a fight with them?_ Artis took a fry from his plate and tossed it over, hitting Dove in the nose. He mentally slapped himself. _Guess not._

"Watch your mouth you little cretin." The boy popped to his feet.

"What'd you say to me!?" Artis looked up, shifting in his chair. A spoonful of pudding hit the boy in his chest, leaving a brown blob on his already brown chest plate. All eyes looked to Ruby who held a spoon covered with chocolate pudding in hand. She pulled back on the end and sent another catapult of chocolatey goodness at him.

"He said 'watch your mouth!'" The second strike landed nearly on top of the first. "Don't be mean to my partner or my team you jerks!" _Really got him good there Rubes, A+ insult._ A fry sailed from the boys' table over Artis's head and into Jaune's eye. The blond called out and fell from his chair. _Drama queen._

"Make us you little shit!" A handful of macaroni hit the offending boy in his leg. Artis turned and saw a little girl's hands covered in gooey cheese.

"Ms. Ruby said to stop being mean you big poop faces!" Another Mac Attack ensued, this one sailed harmlessly to the floor. The mature part of his brain spoke. _Don't you dare. You're going to get us kicked out of here and in trouble with the school. Tell Ivory what she did was wrong, apologize, and go about your day. Iris is going to be pissed at us too. It's not worth it for some petty revenge. Think about what you're showing Ivory, this isn't the right way to do things and you know it. Be better than them, get your stuff, and leave._

Artis pegged a handful of fries at the boys.

"You heard the little lady, stop being mean to us you big poop faces!" He could've sworn he heard the sound of palm meeting forehead. Weiss had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the whole ordeal. She eyed her bowl of Caesar salad with a smattering of dressing for a time. Eventually though, she stood, walked over to the enemy's table and mashed the bowl into Dove's face. The rest of Team CRDL popped up as the bowl clattered to the ground and, somehow, didn't shatter. From there, a war raged that would be remembered for years to come.

Russell leapt at them first, a pair of salt and pepper shakers in hand. He lashed out with them, opting for chemical warfare by sending cloud of black into their eyes and nose. Artis countered his dastardly plan sneezing in the boy's face. Ruby used her Semblance and charged across the battlefield, bowl of pudding in hand. Well, more hand in bowl of pudding. She mashed chocolate sludge into Russell's eyes and nose before slinging the remainder of its contents at the rest of Team CRDL. She Rose Dashed over to Cardin where she promptly smashed the bowl down on his skull giving him a chocolate flavored hat before getting back out of his reach.

Weiss brandished the salad fork that had been sitting on the table like her rapier, stabbing at Dove's chest. Credit was given where it was due as Dove dodged every strike in spite of being probably not being able to see on account of his hair and newly acquired salad face, countering with a butter knife. He closed the gap, driving his shoulder into her chest and slashing with his mighty blade. Weiss's Aura flared and he pressed the attack, slicing at her several more times. The white haired girl dodged as left and right, stabbing at him whenever possible.

Dove reared back and prepared to finish her off but she stepped into it, catching his arm underneath her own. She jammed her fork into his wrist and up his arm to his chest. The boy's Aura would protect him from any serious damage but Weiss pressed her advantage, sliding up and stomping a heeled shoe into his foot. He began to hop around the like the worst rendition of Blackbeard the pirate Remnant had ever seen until the white haired girl shoved him back, sending him over the table and out of the fight.

Jaune had joined in the fray, wielding his plate and a spoon like a sad caricature of a sword and shield. He rushed the blue haired boy known as Sky, jabbing the spoon into the boy's arm where the utensil immediately bent. Sky immediately brandished his own weapon; a surprisingly long cheesesteak. Wielding it with two hands, he mashed the sandwich into Jaune's chest, leaving a stain that would never really come out. Contents bounced to and fro as the blond tried to block attacks with his plate. One well-placed stab though and Jaune's defense was no more and Sky began to pummel him with meaty cheesy goodness.

That left Artis to contend with a pudding covered Cardin. The armored boy had stood and picked up his chair, swinging for Artis's head. He ducked as many swings as he could but backpedaling usually lead to running out of room and he soon tripped over his own chair. Cardin reared back to a vicious strike when an apple slice hit him in the nose.

"Leave my Daddy alone you poop face!" Ivory's distraction gave him all the time he needed. Artis rushed forward, snagging his half eaten burger and half mashed/half punched Cardin in the face with it. A several seconds of this, his hand was a mess of ketchup and beef as was Cardin's face. Weiss had sucker punched Sky and saved Jaune from what had been his most humiliating defeat yet. Thankfully Professor Goodwitch wasn't there to criticize.

Artis peered around and smiled at Ivory who had taken her seat again and finished the remainder of her apples.

"I finished Daddy! Can I have some ice cream now?" A smile found his face and he looked to his team, his soggy, disgusting, oddly appetizingly smelling team. Artis began to hunt for Dusty. _Where is that mangy mutt? I can't believe he'd leave me out to dry like that!_ The stone hound had done what any dog would do; cleanup duty. The mood soured sufficiently when a man walked out from the back. His face was blood red and words seemed to fail him. He huffed and puffed as he looked around at the chaos.

"ALL OF YOU, GET OUT! GET OUT AND DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!" Artis nodded, taking out his wallet and dumping every lien he had onto his table before scooping Ivory up. The Team JARS followed as quickly as possible, save Ruby who stopped and tried to apologize. "GET OUT!" She hastily made her retreat and they hustled away from the property. They made it four blocks before looking back and another three before Ruby broke the silence.

"Did he sound like Jaune to you guys?"

 **A/N: Well, for those of you that want an explanation, here it is. School ramped up, I got a serious case of writer's block, and then, when I thought I got over it, I got sick and it all came back. So here I am, 3 weeks late and with a chapter that is shorter than the last. In my defense, it was because this was cut from what would've been an immense chapter. The good news is that the Chapter 7 will be coming out on about the 13** **th** **or 14** **th** **! So I hope you all liked this chapter. If you did, let me know in the reviews. If you hated it, same thing. Apathetic? Don't worry, I wanna know! As always, may fortune favor you all.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Well, here we are once again. Please read the A/N: at the end and enjoy.**

It seemed that as Team JARS were making their way away from the restaurant, they took a wrong turn and found themselves at the docks. Before they could turn around and start heading back to take Ivory home, the little girl called out.

"Daddy! Look at the big boat! Can we go see it?" All eyes turned to the water as a massive cargo ship was heading into port. From what they could see, it was packed to the gills with containers. Staying and looking at a boat was the last thing he wanted to do. He was tired, sticky, and uncomfortable. But he'd never been good at saying no. With an internal groan, he turned to his team.

"You guys mind if we see the boat for a bit and then head back?" Jaune shrugged, as did Ruby. Weiss sighed.

"Alright, but can we make it quick? I'd like to go to bed and forget today ever happened." Her normally pristine snow white outfit was now marred with stains and rips. In fact, all of Team JARS looked out of sorts. Ruby had flecks of pudding strewn about her skirt as well. Jaune looked the worst. His hoodie was a mess of ketchup and grease marks, as was his face. Even his hair had streaks of red in it.

Artis nodded

"That's fine, right baby girl?" He looked up as much as he could to the little girl on his shoulders. She nodded and tugged on his ears again.

"OK, let's go!" She took one hand off and pointed to the pier that extended out. The group flopped down on the wood and exhaled. It was only then that Artis began to look around. They had somehow stumbled into Vale's industrial sector. Cranes towered into the night sky and various warehouses dotted the landscape. Trucks and cargo containers sat amidst the gravel and dirt. After nearly a minute of watching the ship, Weiss spoke.

"Hang on a second… That's a Schnee Dust Company vessel." Her eyebrows furrowed and she stood. Jaune opened his mouth.

"That's... cool? Is it safe to assume it's bringing in a shipment of dust for the Vytal Festival?" She shook head.

"I'm not sure. I don't remember reading about one in the manifest…" Jaune shared a look with Ruby and Artis.

"You read shipping manifests for your company in your spare time?" She nodded confidently.

"If I am to take over the company someday, I must be aware of everything that goes on within it. How else can I make the best decision without having as much information as I can get?" Jaune shrugged. Before the conversation could continue, a ship roared overhead. The large light that sat on the underbelly of it came to life and began to bounce around from crate the crate. Artis shifted and stood.

"Please tell me the SDC makes a point of sending a Bullhead with every Dust shipment that isn't on manifests." She shook her head slowly.

"No, we don't…" The ship descended and nearly a dozen beings marched out holding guns and clothed in armor with a wolf's head and three claws marks, all blood red. _White Fang._

"We need to go, right now." As Artis spoke, another person exited from the ship. A man in a bright white coat accented with a gray scarf, a cane, and a bowler hat. "Now we _really_ need to go." The teens nodded as the blue haired man scooped up his daughter. "We're going home now sweetie, it's bed time."

"But I'm not tired Daddy, can't we stay bit longer?" She whined. Artis shook his head.

"Not this time baby, we gotta go." She whined again but didn't struggle in his arms. _Thank the gods._ "Now if we move nice and quiet like, we can all get out of here, call the police and Headmaster Ozpin and hang it up for the night. Everyone like that plan?" He was given a chorus of nods and even a light bark from Dusty.

As Ruby and Jaune got to their feet, they heard shouting.

"Hey! What're you doing here?" They all turned and saw one of the White Fang members making his way over. Another voice called out.

"What're you doing you stupid animal? Stop drawing attention to yourself and kill them!" _Oh shit._

"Run!" Artis broke off in a dead sprint towards one of the warehouses that was, thankfully, empty. Bullets ricocheted off the steel and concrete walls. Ivory had ground herself into his neck.

"Daddy, I'm scared!" He rubbed her back as gently as he could.

"It's gonna be alright baby, we're gonna get out of here real soon." He passed a look to his team. "Anyone have any ideas about getting out of here without a fight?" They all shared a look that said they didn't as more bullets pounded into the walls. Above, glass shattered, falling down like rain. Artis shifted so his body blocked as much of it as he could from Ivory as Jaune spoke.

"Everyone move! Get to higher ground." Team JARS ran into a side room and marched up several flights of stairs until they were on the roof. They formed a circle and took a knee.

"Someone please tell me they came up with a plan on the way up here?" Artis looked to Weiss first, who shook her head, then Ruby who did the same. By the time he got to Jaune, he'd basically given up hope. Jaune snapped his fingers.

"The lockers! We can call the rocket lockers here, get our weapons, and fight our way out." The blue haired man looked to the little girl in his arms and then to his team.

"Fine, but I can't be on the ground with you, I won't leave Ivory alone." He slinked his way to the edge of the roof and peered over. Several more warehouses were nearby; some even close enough to jump to. "Alright, I've got something like a plan." All eyes shifted to him. "When the lockers get here, I need all of you make a big distraction so I can get to another location where I can keep her" he nodded his head down to Ivory. "Safe. Then I'll give you guys as much covering fire as I can. Sound good?"

The three of them nodded and pulled out their Scrolls, Artis set Ivory down and did the same. After the signal was sent, he dropped to a knee and took Ivory's hands in his.

"We're gonna be OK baby girl, you hear me?" She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. His heart broke at the sight. _Nice job "dad of the year."_ He tried to go over anything else that they could do but fight only to come up with nothing.

Calling the police would only get them killed, White Fang terrorists led by Roman Torchwick versus standard cops with guns? Not a good idea. There wasn't anyone he could call at Beacon, not that they'd get here since there were no more Bullheads exiting the school, given how late it was getting, there might not even be any heading back. Making a break for it wasn't an option with that Bullhead there, it would easily chase them down and, Aura or no, tear them to ribbons if it was armed. Not a risk worth taking.

They were really going to have to fight their way out of this. Four Huntsman in training, a four year old girl, and a rock dog versus who knows how many armed terrorists led by a thief.

The lockers landed with thuds strong enough to shake the building and send chips of concrete into the air. Artis kissed Ivory's forehead and snatched up his rifle from his locker before sliding the bolt back to see that the chamber was clear. He turned back to his team.

"Alright guys, let's set up the coms so we can stay in contact." He took out his busted Scroll and set up the joint call. "Testing, testing. Everyone hear me?" The sound of feet pounding against concrete echoed from the stairwell they exited from. "Doesn't matter, we gotta move. I'll call my shots before I pull the trigger." He mumbled to himself. "Hope these guys have Aura."

Looking over to the next warehouse, he tossed his rifle and scooped up Ivory.

"Hang on tight baby girl." She nodded and squeezed him like he was her favorite toy. Behind him, he heard the door burst open and gunfire erupt. Artis sprinted as fast as he could, not bothering to measure the jump. The adjacent roof came upon him faster than he'd have liked and instead of rolling, he slid, tearing up the newly bought jeans. _This whole Huntsman thing is awful for my budget._ He cradled Ivory and did everything he could to keep her skin from meeting the rooftop. He came to a halt and turned to see Dusty leap to his side like it was nothing. Show off.

A terrorist had breached the door, joining Team JARS on the roof. Bad idea on his part. The sound of lead meeting steel ravaged the night air as bullets pinged off of Jaune's shield. He stood as the vanguard of the formation, Ruby and Weiss at his back. Several dodged his bulwark, causing his Aura to flare. With a grunt, he rushed forward, slamming his shield into the leading gunman. The Faunus terrorist was send cascading back down the stairs and into his lagging comrades. Ruby and Weiss dashed into the stairwell, leaving Jaune alone atop the roof. Soon the air was filled with screaming and shouting, then silence. A ball of pure dread firmly planted itself in Artis's stomach.

"Ruby, Weiss? You guys alright?" Weiss answered.

"We're fine." Ruby chirped up.

"They're knocked out, seems like they've all got Aura." On the one hand, Artis was eternally thankful, he had yet to actually kill anyone and prayed to the gods above he'd never have to. On the other hand, these were terrorists and his baser instincts told him to slaughter as many as he could. Jaune nodded.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys down there." He turned to Artis on the adjacent building. "You go get set up and cover us." He nodded and dropped to a knee by Ivory's side again.

"Sweetie, stay behind me and don't move OK? There are some very bad people down there who want to hurt us a lot. Dusty will protect you but you need to stay up on this roof with me, OK?" She nodded, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"OK Daddy." Her lip quivered and she threw herself into his arms. "Where's Mommy?" Artis wrapped his arms around her and sighed.

"I don't know baby but as soon as we get out of here, I'll find out. Deal?" She nodded again. "Good." He clicked his tongue twice and called Dusty over. He pointed to Ivory. "Guard." The stone hound let out a low bark and placed himself between the little girl and the stairwell that led to the roof.

Artis kissed Ivory's cheek one last time before gathering his rifle and dropping to the ground. He set up the bipod and let just the end of the barrel peak over the edge and let his Scroll rest just on the edge, next to his mouth. He didn't need the scope to see what was going on down below. A group of three White Fang had begun to run at Ruby, swords drawn. Ruby spun Crescent Rose and smacked the first attack aside with the blunt end of her weapon. It bounced back and she carved through the man's Aura with the blade. It came around again and the second strike sent the terrorist into the water to Ruby's left. Using her Rose Dash, she charged the second White Fang, cleaving through the Faunus's weapon and then his Aura.

The third didn't stand a chance and opted for tossing his sword into the water and sprinting the complete opposite direction of the little Reaper.

Weiss didn't seem to be having any more trouble than her partner; several White Fang had decided to use the same tactic against her as they did with Ruby, with similar results. Though instead of being torn asunder by a massive scythe, they were left like pincushions from her Dust rapier. Of all of Team JARS, it looked like Jaune was having the most trouble. He dealt with the first being to rush him fairly well, jamming Crocea Mors into his chest. It was the second, third, fourth, and fifth White Fang that made things a challenge.

Artis shifted and took aim at one of the terrorists behind his partner. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger. Thunder echoed from the rooftop and the Faunus was sent hurtling end over end into the water. Taking aim again, he picked off a second member. This was exactly where Artis loved to be. In the back, the whole world in front of him, and not a single enemy soul knew where he was. Oh sure, they could guess but unless they were looking for him, they'd be very hard-pressed to actually lock his position down. This was helped by the fact that he had some very useful distrac- teammates - to help out.

"Sorry Jaune, forgot to call that out." He said with a wry grin. "Forget" wasn't exactly the right word but nobody really needed to know that. His partner didn't say anything but he did bash one of the Faunus in the face with his shield; he hadn't been paying attention and paid the price for it. The ghost factor was one of the most effective weapons a sniper had. When nobody knew where you were, that meant you were everywhere. If it drew even a fraction of the enemy's attention away, it was more than enough to get you killed. That niggling little fear in the back of your mind was infinitely louder when you didn't know where the bullets were flying from.

Jaune ran ahead after dispatching the last of his group of White Fang and met up with Weiss and Ruby. The three of them began to march towards Torchwick's last known location. He'd had been noticeably absent as of late, leading to that pit of dread reforming in Artis's stomach. More White Fang goons ran out of a nearby warehouse and at the teens in a row, swords drawn.

"Far left, all mine." Artis squeezed the trigger again and the Faunus fell. Nothing quite broke up that ball like firing a small cannon at armed terrorists. Weiss and Ruby tore apart the right side with brutal efficiency. Jaune… well Jaune kept them occupied for Artis. "On your ten o'clock Jaune, all mine." Another trigger squeeze, another body. "Three o'clock Weiss." A clap of thunder. "Got him." Soon, the column was dwindled down to one very scared White Fang. Through his scope, Artis could see the man drop his sword and watched as a small wet spot began to form at his waist. Weiss made a noise of pure disgust.

"What else did I expect from a bunch of cowardly terrorists?" Artis squeezed his trigger and his was sent off the edge into the drink below. Ruby spoke, her frown evident in her words.

"You didn't have to shoot him; he was going to run away." The blue haired man shrugged.

"We'll say that wasn't one of my finer moments, deal?" He took her silence as acceptance and looked through his scope. "Anybody see Torchwick?" Artis scanned the area, but there was no bowler hat or bright white coat to be found. It had gone quiet at the docks, definitely not a good thing. There was no way they'd dealt with all of the White Fang members and Roman Torchwick was still unaccounted for.

"Could he have run away?" Jaune asked. Ruby shrugged.

"Maybe, he tried to run when I fought him in Vale but I chased him down. Then Professor Goodwitch found me and started yelling at me." Artis cocked an eyebrow, shifting his scope to the little Reaper.

"Why exactly were you fighting Roman in the city?" He could see her cheeks darken from his perch as she stalked across the area.

"I couldn't let him just rob the Dust shop I was in." He watched as she fiddled with the handle of Crescent Rose. "It worked out though, I got to come to Beacon two years early and now I'm on Team JARS. All's well that ends well, right?" She let out an awkward laugh.

 _Two years? Gods, she's only fifteen._ Weiss ground the conversation to a halt.

"Did you guys hear that?" Jaune and Ruby shook their heads. The three closed in on one another, ensuring they wouldn't be singled out. "It sounds like… footsteps." A shock of pink hair caught his attention from in between two buildings. _Iris?_ He looked closer as the pink curls came into view. _No, that's not Iris. She's way too small and Iris never lets her hair get that long. Not to mention this chick's got pink_ _ **and**_ _brown hair._

"Heads up, got movement on your guy's four o'clock, coming from between the warehouses. Looks like a kid with an uh… What's the thing called when it's like an umbrella but not for rain?" They all turned, weapons raised as Weiss sighed and spoke.

"A parasol?" Artis nodded.

"Yea, got a girl coming in with one of them." The scope found her again. "Kinda weird to be walking around at night with one of them, huh?"

"Keep an eye on her Artis, she might be lost or a Huntsman come to investigate." Artis nodded.

"Got it." His finger rested on the trigger guard and he spared a glance to Ivory. She was huddled only a few feet away, her knees pulled up to her chest. _We'll be home soon baby, just a bit longer._ By the door sat Dusty, his eyes never leaving the door he guarded. Just then, he stood and began to growl.

"Daddy, what's the noise?" Artis remained silent, trying to focus his hearing. _Footsteps…_ He stood, letting his rifle rest on the rooftop. He slid his knife from its sheath.

"Ivory, stay away from the door, do you hear me?" A small whimper left her lips.

"What's going on Daddy?" His grip tightened and he picked up his Scroll.

"Someone's coming up the stairs; you don't have any far support." Ruby piped up.

"Do you need help?" He shook his head.

"I don't think so." _I hope not._ "You guys keep trying to find Torchwick so we can leave." He didn't bother listening for a reply, instead opting to slip the piece of cracked technology into his pocket. _We could make a break for it! Just us and Ivory. They couldn't catch us with the rest of the team there to be a distraction! They'd even understand, we've gotta put Ivory first after all…_ As much as he hated to admit it, the plan wasn't awful. His team would definitely understand and no one could really blame him. His daughter's life is at risk, he could be forgiven for leaving a bunch of kids he's only known for a few months in favor of his little girl right?

Artis mentally slapped himself. _No, we're not leaving anyone behind. Everyone is coming home tonight, no exceptions._ The thudding of footsteps was getting louder and he stalked his way to the door. His best bet would be to ambush them as they walked in, they probably were expecting to have the element of surprise on their side and keeping the fight as far away from Ivory was his top priority.

He snapped his fingers twice to get Dusty's attention.

"Dusty, hit." The door burst open, revealing six White Fang grunts. Four hundred pounds of stone and slobber smashed into the lead terrorist's chest like a he was fired from a cannon. Artis followed in not a second after. Dusty had driven them back into one another, causing them to fall down the stairs they'd just ascended. His jaws clamped down on his prey's neck. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be able to swallow much for a few months. If not, well… one less terrorist on Remnant.

Guns were swung and bullets were fired but in the ensuing chaos, there was no real target. Artis drove the business end of his hunting knife into the second guy's chest plate. Using the man as a shield, he rushed the third. Bullets ricocheted off the man's Aura until he collided with the second one who'd been turned into the world's furriest knife rack. Artis slapped aside the third man's gun as Dusty barked and charged the fourth, who was as big as a house and nearly twice as wide. _Of course there's a bear Faunus…_

Tossing Knife Rack and Friend of Knife Rack aside, he made for the fifth, who kept getting knocked down by falling terrorists. She was smaller than the rest, attempting to hold a pair of black swords not unlike the ones her comrades were using earlier. Stumbles attempted to stand one last time but was met with a kick to the skull. He was on her a second later, jamming his knife into her armor. She was unconscious a second later, his knife embedded into the steel.

Stepping off of her, Artis looked to see Dusty clamped onto the bear Faunus's arm while the anthropomorphized mountain rained blows on his snout. The blue haired man came up from behind, snagging one of the rifles from the ground and bludgeoning the terrorist in the back of his head. Bear went down like a ton of bricks, landing on Dusty. _Nobody hits my dog…_

As Artis went to shove the man off the stone hound, the idea was cast aside by the feeling of gunfire ripping into his back. _Son of a bitch that stings!_ He let out a grunt of pain and dropped to a knee where he was given the same treatment as Bear. The butt of the rifle slammed into his skull over and over again, each one driving him back into the ground. Every strike was punctuated by taunts from the terrorist.

"Come on stupid human, get up!" Another blow. "You can't can you? Well good! You'll die on your knees like the Faunus have done for years!" More pain. "You're only getting a glimpse of the pain we've suffered through. You should be thankful!" Several hits later and he stopped trying to get up, instead curling up and protecting his skull as much as he could.

The pain was incredible; he didn't need to check his Scroll to know his Aura was dangerously low. A few more hits and the White Fang would be colliding without that pesky Aura to get in his way. This was how it ended wasn't it? Not surrounded by friends and family while he sat in a bed waiting for a machine to be turned off. Not quietly in his sleep. Not even in a forest surrounded by Grimm. No, Artis Zaffre was going to die in a stairwell, in warehouse by the docks, being beaten to death with a gun while his daughter was less than twenty feet away. _I'm sorry Mom and Dad, seems like all that training wasn't going to save my life at all. I'm sorry Iris, I wish things had turned out differently. I'm sorry Jaune, Ruby, Weiss, I wish I'd gotten to make more memories with you all. I'm sorry Ivory that I won't be able to be there for you when you need me._

It stopped. Artis slowly removed his arms from his face, expecting to be struck again. It never came though. Seconds passed as he waited for the room to stop spinning but it never came to a full halt. Instead, he rolled onto his hands and knees, looking over to see Dusty tearing into his attacker. It seems that the stone hound didn't take too kindly to seeing his master attacked and decided to change the command he'd been given from "hit" to "kill." Dusty stepped off the man, turning to his master. His features were a mess of blood and gore. Artis didn't want to look but a sickening curiosity compelled him to do so.

The Faunus terrorist had been ravaged. His throat had been torn asunder, geysers of blood jettisoned from the wound and his body twitched and writhed. Artis suppressed the urge to vomit, averting his gaze as he failed. Stomach contents expelled themselves onto the wall that helped keep him from having another untimely meeting with the floor. Dusty trotted over, nuzzling his snout into Artis's shoulder. After wiping his mouth, he scratched the hound behind his ears.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you." Dusty gave his master's hand a lick, leaving a red smear on his palm. Using nothing but determination and the wall, Artis dragged himself to his feet and retrieved his knife. Only ten steps separated him from the rooftop; it might as well been ten thousand. Everything was spinning, his head felt like it had been stampeded by a herd of Goliaths, and all he wanted to do was go home. Groans and grunts of pain echoed from his pocket and his hands fumbled to retrieve the Scroll. On the screen he saw the three faces of his team and their corresponding Aura readings. Jaune's had just ticked into the yellow, Ruby was firmly in it as well, and Weiss was red.

"Guys? What's going on down there?" Nothing but grunts. "Come on dammit, someone give me something here!" The effort to shout caused him to fall forward. He would crawl the remainder of the way. His hand shoved the door as hard as he could, which meant it barely squeaked open. Immediately, a pink haired little girl was in his arms.

"Daddy!" Tears flowed down her cheeks and she squeezed him as tightly as her little arms would allow. "Are you OK?" He let out a pained laugh as he hugged her back.

"I think so baby girl." He gave her a light peck on the cheek. "Gotta let go now sweetie, Daddy's gotta help his friends." She wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes and let go. Slowly, Artis made his way back to Ivory's Song, setting his Scroll down next to his rifle. "Guys, I'm back. Sorry about that. What's happening down there?" Flopping down on the ground, his eyes found the scope and it, in turn, found his team, giving him his answer. They were engaged with the pink and brown haired girl he'd seen earlier. She was running circles around his team, dodging most, if not all, of their attacks.

Weiss attempted to pin her down with a flurry of thrusts from Myrtenaster but they were all parried or dodged. Ruby tried to match her speed, using the massive swinging arcs from Crescent Rose to clip her and shots from the weapon to keep her honest. She wasn't fast enough; the girl's umbrella sword slipped into Ruby's space and tore her Aura to ribbons. Jaune… well he tried but someone who was too fast for Ruby and too nimble for Weiss could've dealt with his partner with their eyes closed and arm tied behind their back. Big sweeping attacks and overreaching thrusts were dodged with a smile.

 _What the hell is this girl…?_ He took a breath and tried to steady himself, believing that breathing more would make everything stop spinning. _Focus, gotta focus!_ He screamed at himself mentally. His finger found the trigger and the crosshairs attempted to find the girl. _Come on, hold still for just a second._ She finally did. As she stopped, two things happened. One; his Scroll rang, signaling another incoming call. Two; he heard rotors coming from the distance in front of him. Three Bullheads slowly came into view. Sparing a glance at his Scroll, in big bold letters it read. **Call from: Iris.** _Son of a bitch…_ He wasn't sure exactly what he was referring to. His chance was gone and the girl was moving again.

"Guys, we've got Bullheads incoming." If they heard him, they didn't reply as the fighting raged on. He tapped the fractured screen, adding Iris to the call they were all in. Her voice was calm, cold, and just as sexy as he remembered.

"Where are you?" He took aim at the first Bullhead and let thunder clap again. The front glass shattered and it broke formation, veering upwards. "What was that?"

"Docks, White Fang, Bullheads coming." He heard a groan from the other side of the call.

"Where's Ivory?" He pulled the trigger again and heard an empty click.

"Shit…" He ejected the magazine and slapped in the spare one that had arrived with his weapon. "Uh, she's here on a rooftop with me… at the docks… with the White Fang attacking us… in Bullheads." Iris let out a string of curses foul enough to make a sailor blush. Behind him, her heard Ivory speak.

"Is that Mommy?" He let out a sigh.

"Yes it is sweetie." She was at his side again, snatching up the Scroll.

"Mommy! There's a bunch of bad guys here and they hurt Daddy and his friends. They're blowing things up and it's really scary!" Iris's voice immediately changed from cold and calculating to jovial.

"I missed you so much baby, Mommy will be there as soon as she can to take you home OK?" Ivory nodded, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't cry baby, Mommy's coming." Ivory wiped her eyes and set down the Scroll.

"Please hurry, Mommy." Iris let out a grunt of approval as Ivory walked over and hugged Dusty, apparently not caring or not noticing his bloody maw.

"Artis." He passed a glance to the Scroll. "Sixty seconds." With that, she hung up and Artis felt chills run down his spine. He looked through his scope again, taking a breath. _Gotta make this last six shots last a minute. I can do this._

"You guys catch all that? Cavalry's coming in a minute. Just hang on." The side door on one of the Bullheads opened to reveal a massive minigun and its gunner. _Son of a bitch._ Artis aimed and split the sound barrier with his weapon. The gunner was ejected from the ship and sent hurtling down to the concrete below. "Everyone get inside NOW! I'll cover you!" The only indication that he'd been heard was that they slowly began to move towards a nearby warehouse. The side door opened on another ship to reveal another gunner but it had moved so Artis didn't have an angle.

Switching targets to the pilot, he squeezed the trigger. The sound went unnoticed amongst the chaos but its effect didn't. As quickly as it had come, the Bullhead began to fall. The only problem was where it was landing; amongst a pile of containers packed with Dust. A sickening crunch of steel against steel rocked the landscape. It was paled in comparison to the explosion that followed. A normal Dust explosion was dangerous, capable of killing a normal person and doing some serious damage to a Huntsman's Aura. A cargo container full of Dust though? That would incinerate even those with the strongest of Auras. Thankfully, his team was far enough away from the blast as to not be instantly killed. They did not, however, get off scot free.

The resulting blast knocked them from their feet and sent them closer to the warehouse. Even the girl they'd been fighting was sent flying. Artis had two options here, try to take out the other Bullhead which would risk another massive explosion but would help his team's survival chances or take a shot at the girl his team had been fighting, getting a small modicum of payback and taking her out of the fight but leaving his team open to an aerial attack.

Taking another breath, he squeezed the trigger and let five ounces of lead and Dust fly through the air. The pilot never knew what hit him. The second Bullhead was sent careening down into the water. With one left, he shifted down to the pink and brown haired girl only to find her gone. _Damn it._ With a sigh, he looked back to the third ship only to see it beginning to turn in his direction. _Oh no. Shit shit shit shit shit._ He hopped to his feet, snagging his rifle and collapsing it back down. He turned and sprinted for the door, scooping up Ivory.

"Hold on tight baby and don't you dare let go." His legs felt like jello and the rest of him felt very much the same. The world had stopping spinning but it was far from being stable. He didn't hear Ivory's reply; it was drowned out by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Destruction rained down on his building, shaking the whole complex. Taking care to make sure Ivory didn't see the gore fest in the hallway, the little family managed to get to the main floor, hunkering down in a little side office.

The building continued to shake and rattle as the windows were blown out and walls were torn to smithereens. He picked up his Scroll and set it on the office desk as he cradled Ivory in his lap.

"Artis! Artis, are you OK!?" Jaune. He sounded exhausted, his voice was hoarse and it wasn't farfetched to imagine he didn't look any better than he sounded. Through shaky hands and head trauma, he replied.

"'OK' might not describe it but we're all alive." Ivory had latched onto him like a parasite, her face cradled against the crook of his neck. "What about you guys?" There was a sigh and the sound of weapons clattering to the ground.

"Weiss and Ruby are real low on Aura. I'm still good to go though." Artis looked to the Aura reader on his Scroll. Jaune was still at about half. Ruby and Weiss now both sat in the red. "How's Ivory?" The blue haired man looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was still crying, her tiny hands interlocking with one another.

"She's scared Jaune; she's real scared right now." Artis brought a hand up, stroking her hair. He mumbled into her ear. "It's OK baby girl, we're safe in here." Another explosion tore through the building. Through one of the windows just below the ceiling in the office Artis spotted Roman Torchwick standing and firing down at him through the side door of the third Bullhead. _That's where you went you son of a bitch…_ He began to drift into thinking about all of the awful things he was going to do to Roman once he got his hands on him for endangering his family and friends. Jaune's voice dragged him from his revelry.

"Iris should be here any second right?" Artis looked to the clock on his Scroll. _Ninety seconds. She's late, as usual._ As if on cue, the explosions ground to a halt. He took a risk and peaked his head out the door to see the Bullhead spinning out in the air. A white suited man was thrown from the craft, landing on (and denting) a Dust container. He rolled off of it and made a break for the resting ship that had somehow only sustained minor damage. The same could not be said for its cousin though. It kept spiraling and eventually found itself in the drink, meeting another one of its relatives.

Before it could make contact though, a streak of orange and pink leapt from the falling craft and onto the concrete. Unfortunately, by the time it landed, Roman had begun his takeoff and was airborne. _Good riddance…_ Slowly but surely, Artis walked out of the office and back onto the main drag of the docks.

There she stood, one arm leaning on her massive silver and black double headed battle axe/shotgun hybrid that she named "Dawn's Edge", the other on her hip. She was tall for a woman, matching Artis's own five foot ten. Her hair was cut like a pixie's and it's bright pink color contrasted greatly with the night sky. She was lean and gorgeous in the way every Huntress was (Aura does wonderful things for your skin). Her skin was lightly tanned, complimenting her deep brown eyes. Even from a distance, Artis could still spot the little scar above her lip that she'd gotten as a child. She wore a pale orange t-shirt emblazoned with her family's crest, which was a pair of crossed axes with a diamond in between the axe blades. With that, she combined white leggings that were marred with runs and tears. She was beautiful with just the right amount of terrifying and she was staring right at him.

To his credit, Artis didn't stop walking though he did slow. The air had cooled a great deal, coupled with the breeze off the water and it was downright freezing. In all the chaos, he didn't even realize how cold he was. Now though, his tattered clothes were doing very little to keep the elements out.

Ivory had managed to unchain herself from her father's neck and struggled in his grasp. With a sigh, he set her down and she broke off in a dead run, her little dress flowing in the breeze.

"MOMMY!" Iris dropped to a knee and welcomed the little girl in her embrace. A smile found Iris's face, showing off the little dimple on her cheek.

"Hi sweetie!" She smothered the little girl in kisses and hugs. "Oh I missed you so much!" It didn't take more than a minute for Ruby, Weiss, and Jaune to leave their own cover and join the three of them. The red Reaper Rose Dashed to Artis, wrapping herself around him much like Ivory had.

"I'm so glad you're OK!" He let out a groan of pain and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"I should be saying that to you guys." He exhaled and gave a look to the devastated warehouse. "I'm sorry I couldn't cover you guys from that girl." Jaune shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, from what we heard from your Scroll, you weren't exactly sitting around doing nothing." Artis shrugged and tapped Ruby's shoulder.

"Glad to see you're alright Rubes but can you let go please?" Her cheeks darkened and she took a step back. He looked to the heiress. "How're you holding up Weiss?" She inclined her head.

"I'm fine thank you. A day or so of rest and I'll be back to 100%." Artis put a hand on her shoulder and patted it lightly before looking to Jaune.

"That girl really did a number on you, how you holding up?" He ran a hand through his hair and let out an awkward laugh.

"Yea she did but I'm alright." He paused before shaking his head and continuing. "Exhausted and sore but I'll be OK in the morning." Artis cocked and eyebrow but decided to table the thought for now. The clearing of a throat got the blue haired man to turn around, only to see Iris glaring at him.

"Why was she here?" Artis let a hand come to his forehead, rubbing it gently.

"She wanted to see that big boat over there." He nodded his head in the direction of the cargo ship on the far side of the water. "Then Torchwick showed up and we kinda got trapped."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Artis shrugged.

"No one to call. There's no way the police could've handled this, I wasn't about to call my parents, the only people I know at school are already here, and I didn't know if you were in town." She cradled Ivory in her arms and shook her head.

"Still should've called someone. There's no way a group of first years could take on Roman Torchwick and a platoon of White Fang members, untrained as they are." Artis rolled his eyes.

"I'll be sure to do that next time." Iris set Ivory down and began to close the gap between them.

"Maybe next time don't bring Ivory into a war zone." Artis stepped forward.

"It wasn't a war zone when we got here." It was her turn to roll her eyes. "What was I supposed to do Iris? Tell me, what the hell was the right call in that situation, huh?" She poked his chest with her index finger.

"Run away. You put Ivory's life in danger because of your stupidity." Artis's fists clenched.

"Of course you'd tell me to run away. Why stand and deal with your problems head on when you can run and hide, right?" Unbridled rage crossed her eyes.

"Sometimes it's smart to run. That stubbornness of yours is going to get someone killed one day. Hopefully that someone isn't your daughter."

"Oh fuck you, Iris. I did what I had to do. Maybe if you'd ever be there for Ivory instead of running away every chance you get, I'd be more inclined to listen to your advice." Her hand met his cheek before he could process that it had even moved. Normally, it would've stung but not done any real damage. With his Aura as low as it was though, he was knocked to the ground. There was a gasp from his teammates. She let out a groan of frustration.

"You always do this. You get under my skin and drive me up a gods damned wall. Why can't you just listen to me!? I'm just trying to help you!" Artis didn't bother to get up, instead choosing to spit a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Because you're not always right!" She took a step closer to him.

"Well this time I am! You nearly got our daughter killed because you had to stand your ground. This is why I said she should stay with my parents and not you and yours." He let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you? You know damn well that your family would shoot me on sight if I so much as sniffed your property. At least my parents let you _see_ Ivory when you're in town!"

"Maybe it'd be best if she didn't see you all the time! She might pick up on your stubborn streak and hurt herself trying to take on a beowolf because she's got too much pride to run."

"ENOUGH!" Iris and Artis turned to see Weiss was holding a crying Ivory. Jaune was doing her best to hold back his smaller redheaded teammate from attacking the both of them. "Can't you see what you're doing to your daughter?" Iris walked towards the white haired girl.

"And you are?" Weiss narrowed her gaze and began to caress the little girl's back.

"I'm someone who knows what it's like to watch your parents fight all the time. If you want to fight, do it somewhere else, not in front of her." Artis looked to Iris and they both sighed.

"You're right Weiss. You're right." Ivory whimpered in the girl's arms but turned to her parents.

"Why are you guys fighting? Was I a bad girl?" Artis and Iris both rushed to her, taking her from Weiss's arms.

"No sweetie, not at all." Iris nodded,

"It's not your fault at all baby. Mommy and Daddy are just… having a discussion." Artis suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"But you hit Daddy." Iris averted her eyes.

"Mommy and Daddy had a fight but it's not your fault princess. I promise. We're just worried about you is all, OK?" She nodded and wrapped an arm around both of her parent's necks.

"I don't like it when you fight." Brown and yellow eyes met.

"We don't either baby." The girl turned to her mother.

"Then why do you fight?" They shared a look again.

"Mommy and Daddy are both very… passionate people. Sometimes we get too passionate and take things too far." Artis picked up on the subtle 'I'm sorry' and shrugged.

"Mommy's right princess. Sometimes we fight and sometimes we get loud but we'll always love you. You know that right?" The little girl nodded. Flashing red and blue lights bounced off of the destructive scene and cops followed not long after. They all gave their names and the police ended up calling Beacon who sent a Bullhead to come pick them up. As it touched down, Iris looked to Artis with a sleeping Ivory in her arms.

"I'm sorry about what I said and did. I know you weren't trying to hurt her." He nodded and gave Ivory a kiss on the cheek.

"I would never intentionally put her in harm's way. You know that." She inclined her head.

"I know." She was silent for a second. "I'm glad you and your team are OK." He leaned in, giving her a one armed hug.

"Thanks for saving us at the end. I don't think we would've gotten out alive without you." He looked over to see his team calling for him. "Can you take her to my parent's tonight? I've gotta go." She nodded.

"Take care of yourself Artis." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"You too." With that, he stepped into the Bullhead, took his seat, strapped himself in and they took off. The ride was quiet for the most part. Miraculously, they were all spared from Jaune's intestinal pyrotechnics, something all were thankful for. They'd all received a message from Headmaster Ozpin saying that he'd speak with them in the next day or so. Ruby broke the silence.

"Do you and her fight like that a lot?" Artis shrugged.

"Not so much anymore. That's the first real fight we've had since we broke up way back when." Weiss chimed in.

"Does she always hit you?" He shook his head.

"No, well yes. Sort of. That was the first time she's ever slapped me out of anger and not out of… " He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence as his cheeks blushed a bit and his gaze turned to the floor. Weiss would soon join him in redness.

It was half past midnight by the time they got back to Beacon. As they came to the main courtyard, Jaune plopped down on a nearby bench while Ruby and Weiss decided to head back to their dorm.

"I'll come back in a bit. I just want to sit out here for a bit, clear my head." The girls exchanged a look between themselves and then shared it with Artis. Ruby spoke.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "We'll leave the door unlocked then." She gave him a quick hug and backed away. "Night Jaune." He plastered a smile on, nodding.

"Night guys." The white haired girl simply waved, seemingly too tired to muster up a reply. Artis patted the boy on his shoulder, starting off after the two girls. He wasn't more than thirty feet away when he stopped.

"I think I'll join Jaune in clearing my head if it's all the same to you guys." The same look from earlier was traded between their faces.

"Alright, like Ruby said, the door will be unlocked." He nodded, saying his evening pleasantries as he took the seat next to Jaune on the bench. Dusty dropped to the ground, curling into a very large ball. It was cute in a way, like a cuddly boulder.

Blue eyes looked over at him and Artis nodded his head at the boy.

"Hell of a day, huh?" The blond slumped forward, his eyes finding the ground. He looked exhausted. His clothes were ripped and punctured; his fingers were raw and scraped. His hair, while normally messy and unkempt, was covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. There were even still a few streaks of ketchup from earlier. _I guess we all look like hell tonight. Can't even imagine how bad I must be right now._

"I guess you could say that." Artis put a hand on his shoulder. _I should apologize; the whole day was my fault. I should've just told Ivory no, it was time to go home._ _Gods, I messed up._

"Listen, I'm… sorry about what happened." He cocked his head, an eyebrow raised. "What happened was my fault, from the food fight to the docks. I should've been better, I should've told Ivory no, I definitely shouldn't have had that fight with Iris in front of you guys." Jaune shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. The food fight was great, I mean we'll probably never be allowed back there again but still, it was… fun." Running a hand through his ragged blond mane, he continued. "I'm sorry I wasn't more help during it." Artis let out a chuckle, taking his hand away and leaning back on the bench.

"You got beat with a cheesesteak." The chuckle grew into a full on belly laugh. Jaune even joined in a few seconds later. Their joy echoed through the night air until they were both wiping tears from their eyes. Soon though, it came to an end and it was Artis's turn to apologize again.

"Again, about the docks… That one's on me. We should've never been there." A hand waved him off.

"You didn't mean for any of that to happen. Besides, I'm team Leader, if I really thought it was a bad idea, I would've said something." Artis nodded, letting his head fall back to stare up at the night sky. Being as far away as they were from the city and having a whole forest around the campus meant there wasn't a speck of light produced that wasn't Beacon's. Thanks to that, there were plenty of stars hanging above.

"Team JARS, led by our fearless leader, Jaune Arc! With him at the helm, there's no foe we can't defeat." the blond scoffed.

"Yea, tell that to the pink and brown haired girl we were fighting at the docks. She was toying with us the whole time."

"That's what Beacon is for though. They take what you learned in Combat School and elaborate on it. Show me something you learned from there, I might be able to help you out for next time." He hopped to his feet, gesturing to the boy, who tried to wave him off. "Just get up and show me what you've got."

"Can't we do it in the morning? I'm beat, Artis." The blue haired man shook his head.

"This won't take more than a minute. Just show me something and we'll go right to bed. I promise." With a groan, the boy joined Artis on his feet, drawing Crocea Mors and slipping into his stance. The blue haired man brought a hand to his chin as he examined the boy.

"That's the stance you learned at… Where did you say you went before Beacon?" _Wherever he went, I hope he didn't pay them well. His form is god awful. It looks like how I did when I tried to teach myself how to use a knife all those years ago._

The boy shuffled his feet, his eyes going to the grass below.

"Uh, I went to uh… Signal! Yea, I went to Signal." Artis furrowed his brows.

"Really? Who was your instructor there?" He crossed his arms.

"Um, my instructor? Well, it was uh… Professor… It was Professor… Tawney?" _Bullshit._

"Bullshit." The boy paled. "Professor Tawney is the axe instructor. That's who Iris had. Who trained you, Jaune? Because frankly, it looks like you trained yourself." If it was possible, he paled even more, becoming a shuffling blob of noises. _Wait a second. No, he didn't… there's no fucking way… But that explains everything! His poor form, lack of conditioning, and even not having Aura. Yea but that's impossible. There's no way Ozpin would make some a leader, let alone let them_ _ **in**_ _, without training._ "Jaune, you _do_ have training, right?" If he was a mass of noises after the previous comment, Artis's question must've reversed evolution and stolen his ability to form words.

 _Come on Jaune. Say something, anything. Tell me your family trained you and they'd never held a sword before. Tell me you're an orphan or that you're Ozpin's grandson or something. Tell me anything but that you trained yourself. There is no way he's stupid enough to attend a Huntsman Academy with no prior knowledge._

"You're self-trained aren't you? You have absolutely no former training at all, do you?" Seconds of silence passed though they felt like centuries. Eventually though, Jaune let his head droop.

"You're right. I'm… untrained." Fury ignited Artis's blood and he was on the boy in a second. His hands grabbed the collar of the boy's hoodie, lifting him into the air. His knuckles were snow white and all of the pain and exhaustion was gone in a second. The boy struggled but it didn't matter, Artis dragged him until they were nose to nose.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID!?" He paused for a beat. "That's it isn't it? You're a complete fucking idiot." A tear formed in Jaune's eye. "That's the _only_ explanation I can think of that you would try to attend a school for at least semi-trained warriors to be molded into Grimm killing machines _without a single fucking lick of training!_ " His breathing was ragged, all rational thought was gone. "How the hell did you even get in, huh?" A heartbeat passed and when Jaune didn't answer, Artis shook him. "Tell me!"

"I… I… I cheated." Artis's eyes went even wider. "There was a guy in back home in Ansel that said he could get my name on a scholarship list and put transcripts through for a few hundred lien." The tears began to flow down his cheeks. "I'd always dreamed of being a Huntsman but the only Huntsman in my town was Dad and he refused to train me. I studied every book on swordsmanship I could find and trained for months. Then I paid the guy and he took care of the rest…"

Artis was so stunned, he dropped the boy, who fell back into the bench.

"Are your dreams that much more important than that boy's whose spot you took? Are your aspirations that much higher than the girl who worked her ass off but was a bit late finding the chess piece? Gods, just how selfish are you?" Jaune wiped his eyes but kept them glued to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Artis shook his head.

"The hell you are. This isn't something 'I'm sorry' is going to fix, Jaune. Not only did you steal the spot from someone who deserved it but you put the whole team at risk." The boy looked up at his partner. "We're supposed to be able to rely on _all_ of our teammates to protect our backs. We're supposed to be able to protect each other and rely on one another. How can me, or Weiss, or Ruby trust that you've got our backs if you have _absolutely no training_!?" _Weiss and Ruby._

"Do they know?" He shook his head.

"No, you're the first person I've told." Artis brought his hands to his face and screamed as loud as he could into them. It should've felt good to get it out of him but it just kept getting replaced with more anger.

"You could've gotten them killed tonight Jaune, do you understand that? If Iris doesn't show up or if I'm a second later getting back to the rifle, Ruby, Weiss, or even you, could be a corpse right now. The rest of us would be having a funeral tomorrow and not a meeting with the Headmaster."

"I'm sorry, I… I didn't think about it…" Artis sneered.

"No, that much I can see." He let out a sigh, his hand going to his forehead. "What do you think I should do Jaune? Do I go to Ozpin with this and get you kicked out or do I sit on this? From where I am, there isn't really a good option." He began to pace back and forth. "You see, if this was earlier in the semester, I'd take to the Headmaster right now, get you ousted, and we'd get a new teammate. Now that we're a decent way into the year though, that changes things. There's no waiting list or backlog of kids, plans have already been made, and things are set in stone for the most part. I could still go and expose this but I don't know what this would mean for the team." Jaune looked to his partner again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if the leader of our team gets thrown out and there's no replacement, there's a chance we'd be disbanded and possibly kicked out." A look of horror appeared on the boy's face. "Me, Weiss, and Ruby would probably all get our tuition back and be guaranteed a spot next year but we'd have to go through Initiation again. I don't know if I'm willing to take that risk and I'm not about to make that decision for them either." He went to the back of the bench, resting against it.

"I don't know what to say Artis. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to affect everyone so much. I… I just wanted to live my dream. You understand that right?" Artis crossed his arms and scanned the courtyard. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, maybe an answer. Maybe another student that they could come to Ozpin with as a replacement for Jaune. When nobody walked out of the darkness, he replied.

"It's not your reasoning I have a problem with. I know what it's like to dream about this. I just hate how you went about it." His mind went back to the long hours he spent fantasizing about being a Huntsman. He thought of the moment he got his acceptance letter from Beacon and the pure unadulterated joy he felt. He'd called Iris right after he showed the letter to his parents. She'd been nearly as excited as he was. They'd only started dating a few months before and attending the same school was going to help them immensely. All those hours of training, running, lifting, sparring, and stretching. Every ounce of sweat, blood, and tears had finally paid off. He snapped back to the present, an idea in mind _Sweat, blood, and tears…_

"I think I have an idea." Jaune shifted in the bench, turning to his partner. "I'll train you myself." He was floored. His mouth hung open but Artis could see the gears shifting behind his sapphire eyes.

"You will?" The blue haired man held up a hand.

"Don't go getting excited now, there's a caveat." _This is an awful idea. Yea, but what other option do we have? He's not going to get better overnight and we can't risk being kicked out. I don't like it. Me either._ "First, you tell Weiss and Ruby first thing in the morning." His face dropped and he began to ring his hands. "They deserve to know they can't trust you to watch their backs. It's their life on the line too." After several seconds of cold silence, he nodded.

"OK, I'll tell them tomorrow after breakfast."

"Good, then I'll bring up the training and we put it to a vote. If Weiss and Ruby say no, then we'll take you to Ozpin and deal with the repercussions. I'm going to need their help since I only know so much about sword fighting. I'll tell you right now, it's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done or will do. You'll be making up for nearly seven years of time and I'm not going to pull any punches. It's going to hurt, it may even kill you but if it works? You'll have earned your place here."

Artis began to walk to the dorm after tapping Dusty on the flank. Somehow, the stone mutt had slept through the whole ordeal.

"I'm going to bed." He heard Jaune get up and start to follow after him. He stopped and turned. "I don't want to sleep in the same room as you tonight. Give me your Scroll." The boy passed the piece of technology to his partner with a look of confusion. "Find somewhere else to sleep tonight." Jaune's mouth opened to speak but he thought better of it. "Go ask Team RYBN across the hall or go to the Library, stay out here for all I care. I just don't want to see you until tomorrow." Artis spun on a heel, heading home.

"Night Artis." His only reply was to shove his hands in his pockets and walk a bit faster. Despite his exhaustion, sleep wouldn't come easy that night. 

**A/N: Quite a ride huh? Far and away the longest thing I've ever written and I did it in two days. This is the end of Volume 1 and Pers. is going to end at Vol 3 so we're at about the 33% mark. Now for the bad news and the good news. Let's start bad. I'm taking a hiatus from Perseverance until early later December/early January. I need a bit of a break from this one. College and the holidays are going to be very busy, not to mention that I'll be getting a new computer in a few weeks. Good new though, there will be content from me in the form of a few one shots. Tell me what you liked about this chapter; tell me what you hated as well. Let me know your thoughts and what you've been thinking. May fortune favor you all.**


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